WUNRN
Girls' Health & Education -
Minimum Marriage Age May Be Raised to 18.
Unscrupulous mullahs accused of marrying young girls whose health and education then suffer.
By Diana Isayeva in Baku (CRS No. 518, 06-Nov-09)
Officials
in Azerbaijan are so concerned by the number of women getting married under-age
that parliament is discussing raising the minimum age for marriage to 18.
Women’s rights activists say corrupt religious officials are prepared to
conduct Islamic ceremonies for couples when the woman is too young for a state
service, leaving her unprotected if her husband leaves her, uneducated and
vulnerable to medical complications.
But girls themselves, like 15-year-old Sabina Agavaliyeva, who is preparing to
marry a man seven years her senior, say they are happy to take the risks and
leave school early.
“My fiancé does not want me to study. He says there is no point. And I think
that if my husband will work and support the family, then his wife should look
after her children and husband,” she told IWPR, when asked if she regretted
leaving school.
Her parents do not object to the match, saying it is hard to find a good
husband.
But parliamentary deputies say such marriages are dangerous and that the girl
is risking her health by marrying so young. If legal amendments suggested by
Hadi Rajabli, chairman of the commission for social policy, are adopted then
the minimum age for marriage will be raised to 18 from 17.
“I think the age limit must be raised, and not just for straight physiological
reasons. A mature mother is the basis of a family. If a mother herself is a
child, then she cannot raise her children as she should. We are talking about
the mother’s education, about how a mature woman must conduct family matters. A
marriage with such a woman will be stronger than if she is a young,
inexperienced girl,” he said.
Experts agree that young marriages are dangerous for girls. Ruhangiz Huseynova,
chairwoman of the organisation Female Solidarity, said a girl’s body is not yet
ready to have babies or an active sex life.
“For example in the Masally region of southern Azerbaijan, of 30 girls who
became pregnant aged 15 or 16, only one gave birth without problems. The others
had to have medical intervention. There are cases when a girl, not used to a
sex life, returns to her parental home with a reputation for inadequacy,” she
said.
She said the girls also suffer from an incomplete education. In Khachmaz, a
city near Azerbaijan’s border with Russia, of 2,500 pupils in their final year
of school, almost 130 girls were not attending since they had already married.
The headmaster, she said, took no action, although education is compulsory.
But her organisation’s research shows that the problem of young marriages is
most pronounced in the southern regions bordering Iran.
“In these regions people are poor and, by marrying off a daughter, they think
they can solve the problem of having to support her. Corruption among spiritual
leaders plays a big role, since they are ready to hold a religious marriage
without state registration. According to our investigations, a religious
marriage costs around 500 manats (625 US dollars),” she said.
She also pointed out that a woman entering into a religious marriage without
state registration loses the right to state support for her future children.
Other experts said early marriages are a risk not only to the health of the
mother, but also to that of the child. According to Hijran Huseynova,
chairwoman of the State Committee for the Problems of the Family, 90 per cent
of children born to young mothers have health complications.
Haji Surkhay Mamadli, a religious leader and imam of the Juma mosque, said that
a religious conference had decided in 2007 to exclude anyone from the
organisation who conducted a religious marriage for an under-age woman.
“Islamic law does not give a precise date when a girl can get married. Kitab
al-Nikah (the book of marriage) gives marriageable age as when a girl reaches
sexual maturity. This age can vary from nine to 14. But anyway, Azerbaijan is a
secular state, where religion is separate from the state. And we religious
figures must act within the laws of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The law states
that below 17 a marriage is not legal and I support this,” he said.
Mullahs are not allowed to perform a religious ceremony if the couple cannot
prove they are fit to be legally married.
“If couples come to us, we ask them if they have a marriage certificate from
the state organs. If they do not then we do not register their union,” Haji
Surkhay said.
But Nabil Seidov, chairman of an alliance of non-governmental organisations
concerned with children’s rights, said that not all religious figures were as
scrupulous as they should be when it came to enforcing the law.
“They are ready to break the law and conduct a religious marriage without the
necessary documents. An illegal marriage costs 500 manats,” he said, pointing
to the statistics showing how many girls missed the last year of school.
“It is clear that their marriage has been formalised by a religious ceremony
alone.”
Huseynova of Feminine Solidarity said a change in the law would help solve the
situation, but would not be enough without publicising the dangers of early
marriages.
“We are not opposed to religious marriages; we are opposed to under-age
marriage. We support educating girls about the consequences,” she said.
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