Married by court order: wild morals in the former Soviet republic
'06.04.2019'
Source: Present Tense
The courts of Tajikistan in 2018 issued 2500 permits to marry underage girls. This is reported by the Tajik service of Radio Liberty, referring to statistics from the country's Supreme Court.
Thus, six to seven minors got married every day in Tajikistan, says Present Tense.
According to the laws of the country, the age of marriage begins with 18 years. But in exceptional cases, for example, during an early pregnancy or a serious illness of the parents, the court allows the girl to marry earlier.
A Tajik judge, on condition of anonymity, told Radio Liberty that many parents abused the right to exceptional cases prescribed by law.
“There are still cases when girls after the 9th grade are not allowed to go to school, are prepared for marriage, go to court for a decision to lower the age of marriage. They justify that they are in a difficult financial situation or cannot keep track of their daughter, ”he said.
According to the country's law enforcement agencies, last year 29 revealed unlawful marriages with underage girls.
In 2016, Tajikistan introduced medical examinations of those who are about to marry. According to the official version, genetics is checked first of all, so that close relatives or carriers of genetic diseases do not marry. But in fact, future spouses are also tested for HIV, hepatitis and other diseases that are sexually transmitted. The recommendations of the UN Committee against Discrimination against Women to the Government of Tajikistan state that during such medical examinations, virginity tests are often carried out.
In traditional Tajik society, it is still believed that a girl before marriage should be chaste. Therefore, if the husband on the wedding night finds out that there was no blood flow during intercourse, he concludes that the girl already had sexual experience. The bride can be put out of door with disgrace, and parents, as a rule, refuse to accept the daughter back.
According to the Republican Forensic Examination Center, for the first half of 2018, the 22 of the groom addressed them, doubting the virginity of their bride and demanding to confirm her.
The marriage traditions in Tajikistan have repeatedly caused women's suffering and resentment in the press, but nothing has changed in the country. We wrote about how the husband beat and left his wife on the second day of marriage, having doubted her virginity.
