Source: Iran Times

The government should get into the business of helping arrange marriages because parents aren't doing a good job of that anymore and Internet dating services are harmful, the head of the National Youth Organization says.

In an interview with Khorasan newspaper, Seyed Mohammadi insisted the government must organize "spouse finding" centers and youth counseling services.

"Previously the elders within families used to intervene to facilitate marriage.  However, in today's society—due to structural changes in society—these interventions have lost their efficiency and there is a serious vacuum in this regard," Mohammadi said.

"We must monitor the performance of existing spouse-finding centers while creating new centers under government supervision so young people can receive the information and counseling they need in order to find a spouse.  Furthermore, these centers ought to act as a bridge between young people who want to get married.

"In the absence of such centers, which is a need in today's society, Internet marriages have expanded and people enter marriage without proper research and understanding," Mohammadi said.

When asked whether the welfare office was going to license the "spouse finding" centers or not, Mohammadi said, "As far as I know, these centers have not been licensed and therefore they act without license and often without required expertise and skills.  If centers were opened under the government supervision, which could take advantage of expert forces in family counseling based on religious and Islamic teachings, they could help increase marriage in society based on strong and proper criteria."

Hojatoleslam Haj Ali Akbari, also of the National Youth Organization, agreed with the need for government involvement.  "We must prevent the development of modern marriages via the Internet and irresponsible interventions by creating counseling centers," Akbari said, adding that the National Youth Organization has made marriage its top priority.

About Iran Times: The Iran Times is an independent newspaper with no affiliation with any political party or faction The Iran Times corporation was founded in Washington D.C. in 1970, in accordance with U.S. federal and local regulations: www.iran-times.com

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