Call in Tajikistan for higher marriage age
| Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Publication Date | 5 May 2010 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Call in Tajikistan for higher marriage age, 5 May 2010, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/4bfcfb2b23.html [accessed 21 October 2022] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
May 05, 2010
QURGHON-TEPPA, Tajikistan – Tajikistan's only female general has proposed raising the minimum marriage age for women to 22, RFE/RL's Tajik Service reports.
Saodat Amirshoeva, who was elected to the lower house of the Tajik parliament two months ago, told RFE/RL that early marriages lead to early divorces.
The current minimum marriage age in Tajikistan is 17 for women and 18 for men.
These ages were included in the 1994 constitution during Tajikistan's civil war, when security fears prompted many parents to seek to marry their daughters off early.
Nigora Azizova, a resident of the southwestern city of Qurghon-Teppa where Amirshoeva comes from, told RFE/RL that some parents still seek to marry off their girls at a young age because of poverty and a lack of work opportunities for their daughters.
Azimjon Vahhobov, an activist with the Islamic Renaissance Party in the southern Khatlon Province, disagrees, saying most Tajiks are Muslim and Islam supports early marriage.
Vahhobov says postponing marriage does not improve girls' living conditions. Instead, he said, it makes it harder for them to find a husband as they get older.
Last month, in his annual address to parliament, President Emomali Rahmon supported raising the minimum marriage age for women to 18. Rahmon said that would give young people a better opportunity to complete their education and prepare themselves for raising families.
Link to original story on RFE/RL website
