For your information and reference, I've enclosed the letter of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States dated January 3, 2011 to all the Local Spiritual Assemblies concerning Parental Consent for Baha'i Marriage [in English and Persian Languages].
Here are few important excerpts from the attached letter:
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As you know, Bahá'u'lláh has clearly stated that the consent of all living parents is required for a Bahá'í marriage. The intent of this requirement, as elucidated in a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi, is "to strengthen the social fabric, to knit closer the ties of the home, to place a certain gratitude and respect in the hearts of the children for those who have given them life and sent their souls out on the eternal journey towards their Creator." (From a letter dated October 25, 1947) Another letter written on behalf of the Guardian, however, states that "… in some cases it is permissible under the law of God either for the parents or for the children to disown the other, to deprive the other of certain rights, to sever family ties and to renounce their responsibilities" and that "the law thereof is to be decided by the Universal House of Justice." (From a letter dated November 15, 1940)
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The Universal House of Justice, in a letter written on its behalf dated January 19, 2010, has determined that it is timely to further clarify the range of circumstances in which a child may seek to be free of the requirement to obtain parental consent for marriage. It notes three areas that have been identified in this respect, as follows:
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Finally, the right of the parent to consent can be forfeited if he or she seeks to use the requirement for consent in a manner which subverts the spirit and intent of the law or obstructs an individual's right as a believer in Bahá'u'lláh to marry in accordance with the provisions of Bahá'í law. For example, 'Abdu'l�Bahá states, "As for the question regarding marriage under the Law of God: first thou must choose one who is pleasing to thee, and then the matter is subject to the consent of father and mother." Yet, in some instances, a parent has refused consent in order to deprive the child of the right to choose and to force the child to marry someone of the parent's choosing. In other instances, a parent has denied consent in order to try to prevent the child from marrying anyone.
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A parent also violates the spirit of the marriage law if he or she uses the requirement for consent to exert unjustifiable control over factors that are unrelated to the prospective marriage. An example of this transgression is a parent who threatens to withhold consent as a means of manipulating the child's behavior to create estrangement between the child and the other parent. Another example is a parent who misuses the law to extract financial benefits or other concessions from the child or the child's other parent.
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