the number of early marriages decreases, but the prioblem remains

Baku/29.09.22/Turan: According to the State Statistics Committee, last year 137 girls who married in Azerbaijan were aged 15 to 17 years. The official marriage age in Azerbaijan is 18, except that girls can be 17.  Eighteen years old  is the deadline also set by the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child, the marriage of children is considered a violation of human rights. News about early marriages and forced marriages of underage girls appears from time to time in social networks and official information.

On September 28,  on a social network  appeared a report that a 17-year-old girl had been forcibly married off in Baku. The young girl said that she was in the 11th grade, the family took her out of school and got engaged her to a  25-year-old nephew; their wedding will take place in two weeks.

The Interior Ministry said it had opened an investigation into the allegations. According to official statistics, the peak of the number of girls entering into marriage under the age of 18 in the country occurred in 2011. At that time there were 5138 such girls.

According to Azerbaijani legislation, marriage of a person who has not reached marriageable age is not allowed. According to Article 176-1.2 of the Criminal Code, persons who force people under marriageable age to marry are punishable by a fine of three to four thousand manats or imprisonment for up to four years.

There is a Decree of the Cabinet of Ministers on the approval of the "Procedure for informing young people about the importance of family and marriage, about the negative consequences of early marriage and marriage between relatives in order to preserve and strengthen it."

Fazil Mustafa, a member of the Milli Majlis Committee on Human Rights, told Turan that abroad such cases are called child marriages. "In Azerbaijan, marriage is also a legal act, and anything that happens illegally does not fall into this category of legal marriage."

“This  problem  is because of ignorance,  the absence of some kind of social environment, public condemnation on the ground. In many regions this is  usual, but it must be fought, and such early marriages should be avoided."

The MP noted that state structures are struggling with early marriages. “There is a very serious struggle in this direction, and those involved in the commission of these actions, including parents, are being held accountable.”

Mehriban Zeynalova, chairman of the "Clean World" Public Association for Assistance to Women, said that such statistics are usually determined by the birth rate. “In 2011,  the number of early marriages lessened, but  during the pandemic, many controls weakened, schools were  closed, and  the absence of  monitoring capacity caused an increase in early marriages.”

According to the human rights activist, it is wrong to  explain early marriages  only by economic factor. “It is necessary to find out the reasons. After training, it is necessary to propagate in this direction without enlightening others. Most of those who do this are participating in the early marriage of a girl under the pretext that immorality is spreading around her. Then it is necessary to strengthen the safety of girls, women.”

According to the head of the organization, the introduction of punitive measures leads to a decrease in the number of early marriages. “But, if the process is still ongoing, then there are some factors that prevent it from completely stopping. These factors must be fully explored and eliminated."

He noted that the real statistics on early marriages are higher. “These official statistics were only derived from the birth process. But not every early marriage has a birth. Therefore, the real number is much higher, and it is very difficult to give accurate statistics on such hidden crimes.”

Human rights activist Vafa Rustam also said that state structures do not seriously fight against early marriages. "Usually, early marriages take place in rural areas. And where everyone knows each other, the level of prosecution is not so high."

Since the law provides for “forced marriage with a minor”, ​​this provides an opportunity for manipulation. "In some cases they use it to absolve people of responsibility" when they say the marriage was not forced.

According to the human rights activist, the relevant state bodies in many cases are not interested in the fate of girls who stopped going to school from the 9th grade and earlier. “But you need to start with the fact that everyone should come to school.” He believes that the number of early marriages included in the statistics is  less than  the actual number of such marriages.

Elgun Safarov, head of the information department of the State Committee for Family, Women and Children, told Turan that marriage of underage children is unacceptable.

According to him, in 2012 these figures were close to 2,000, in recent years this figure has decreased. “In 2020, during the  pandemic,  there were 156 facts, and  in 2021 there were 137 facts. If we compare the percentage of the population, then the number of child marriages in Georgia, Turkey, Armenia and Russia is higher than in Azerbaijan.”

According to the representative of the committee, this does not mean that the figure of 137 is satisfactory. "Preventive measures must be taken for each fact. The State Committee is conducting a study to eradicate child marriage, in which regions it is most convenient, and, based on the results, strengthens and conducts educational activities."—0—