Leila thought she had found a simple solution to her post-divorce loneliness when a married man proposed a ‘sigheh,’ Iran's religiously approved temporary marriage.
Three years after divorcing her unemployed husband, the mother of two daughters entered what she believed would be a brief, inconsequential relationship.
Now, she faces possible imprisonment and the collapse of her remarriage because of a legal document she cannot retrieve.
"I had no idea that the sigheh contract in that man's possession could have legal consequences for me," said Leila. "I asked him to return the contract and settle everything peacefully, but he refused."
Iran’s temporary marriage law, under Article 1075 of the Civil Code, places women at greater legal risk while enabling men to maintain extramarital relationships without consequences.
The practice, rooted in Shia jurisprudence, allows couples to marry for predetermined periods with specified dowries. But religious law also means that women’s subsequent relationships can be deemed criminal.
When Leila's ex-husband found work and asked to reconcile, she agreed on the condition that he maintain steady employment.
They remarried officially, but the uncanceled sigheh contract hangs over their relationship like a legal sword.
Under Islamic law, her new marriage is void because the temporary marriage was never formally dissolved, rendering her “eternally forbidden” to her current husband.
"If my husband finds out, or if that person reveals the matter, I will have to divorce my husband again, wait through the mandated period, and then remarry him," Leila explained. "I could also face imprisonment and fines. If my husband learns I was still under sigheh, everything will fall apart."
The man who holds her sigheh contract, however, faces no legal consequences.
IranWire interviewed several women whose experiences show how temporary marriage has evolved from a religious accommodation into a system that exploits vulnerable women while generating profits for online intermediaries.
Sara, a 32-year-old single mother from south Tehran, turned to sigheh after her divorce left her with custody of her child and severe financial hardship.
Through Telegram channels that charge up to $40 to post marriage listings, she connected with a man she did not realize was married.
"He promised a lot of support, and I thought at least my mind would be at ease for a few months," Sara said.
The man appeared respectable and agreed to pay her dowry at the contract’s end. But when the period expired, he disappeared, leaving behind a false address.
"The channel manager told me it was my own mistake, that I should have arranged these things from the beginning," Sara recalled, describing her failed attempt to seek help from the platform that facilitated the connection.
Hundreds of Telegram channels now operate as informal matchmaking services for temporary marriages, charging fees for postings and additional sums for contact information.
These platforms have turned sigheh into a commercial enterprise while offering little protection to participants.
The risks extend beyond financial exploitation.
Negar, a 25-year-old from northern Iran, contracted a sexually transmitted disease through a temporary marriage arranged via these channels. The man had claimed to be a wealthy merchant seeking short-term companionship.
"I thought if it was legal and religious, everything would be safer and more secure, but I was wrong," Negar said. "Now I can't even ask my family for help with treatment."
The social stigma surrounding temporary marriage creates further complications for women.
Fatemeh, a 41-year-old widow who entered sigheh because of financial necessity and her inability to remarry permanently, described the cultural contradiction at the heart of the practice.
"For me, sigheh was a way to meet my financial needs without society’s judgment," she said. "But every time I spoke to someone about it, I felt my self-respect was being questioned."
Iranian society simultaneously recognizes temporary marriage as religiously legitimate while viewing it as morally suspect, especially for women.
Legal experts say that temporary marriage functions primarily as a mechanism for male polygamy, without the financial obligations typically associated with marriage.
Men are not required to provide ongoing support or inheritance rights to temporary wives, creating an arrangement that benefits men while exposing women to significant legal and social risks.
The commercialization of temporary marriage through online platforms has further corrupted the practice’s original religious intentions.
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