A group of Iranian lawmakers is seeking caps on child marriage in the country, a drive that seems to have little chance of success due to fierce opposition from hard-liners.

"It all dates back to 44 years ago," wrote hard-line daily Kayhan in a Nov. 26 editorial, "when US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger placed the [National Security Study Memorandum 200] on President Richard Nixon's desk. … The document addressed the threat of human development in America's rival countries and how population growth could boost them." The editorial then accused the Iranian members of parliament who are pushing for restrictions on child marriages of having the document as their role model.

What the lawmakers are advancing is a ban on marriage for girls below the age of 13 and boys under 16. Originally proposed by the parliamentary Women’s Faction, the bill was formally introduced Sept. 26 by 67 Reformist members of parliament who sought an amendment to an article in the Islamic Republic’s Civil Code, which sets the same age limit for both genders but allows girls to marry at a younger age, with the consent of a guardian. If passed, the bill will raise the age limit to 16 and 18 for girls and boys, respectively. Under the same amendment, marriage is still legal from the ages 13 to 16 for girls and 16 to 18 for boys, with consent from a "sound-minded" guardian and judicial approval.

Although the Iranian parliament has fast-tracked a debate of the bill, the road is expected to be a bumpy one, and the prospects for the bill's approval look bleak as hard-liners tirelessly put obstacles in its path.