Contributed by: Yuliya Gureyeva, Azerbaijan National VAW Monitor

On December 8, 2005 in Baku was organized a round table on ‘Violence against Women and Its Influence on Girls Education.’ In the opening speech, the Director of the Gender Information Center, Yelena Kasumova, briefed participants on the history of the Campaign 16 Days against Violence and its objectives.

Representative of the Empowering Education Program in Azerbaijan, Malahat Murshudlu presented results of the survey that was conducted in the 6 regions of Azerbaijan: Massali, Lenkoran, Mingechaur, Gandja, Barda and Sumgyit, among parents of the girls who dropped off the school. The survey discovered that the main reason for that was early marriages. The number of early marriage cases in Azerbaijan has increased drastically in the past years; often girls are forced to enter into the marital relations and drop education without consent. 

Then the floor was given to two schoolgirls who told a story of their girlfriend. She was forced to get married to a person, who was older than her when she was studying in the 9 grade floor (14 years old). When she tried to object to the decision of her father, she was stopped from leaving her house and was not given food. Finally she had to agree to the forced marriage. However, after one year, her husband left for Russia to earn money, but her mother-in-law kicked her daughter-in-law from the house as she didn’t want to live together and spend money on her.

Another challenge is that early marriages are not usually registered, as according to legislation a person can enter into the marital relations only after reaching marriable age, which is 17 for women and 18 for men. In extreme cases with parents consent, marriable age can be shortened but not more than one year (Article 10, Family Code, Republic of Azerbaijan, 1999). This makes impossible any legal claims for girls in case of divorce.

Schoolgirls asked participants, representatives of NGOS to help them in issuing a newsletter for girls, where advice will be given on how to deal with the problem of early forced marriages and where to apply for assistance in such cases.  

Following the results of the round table, the participants were also invited to participate in the radio programs on the problem of early marriages, which was broadcasted on December 23 and 30, 2005.

Written by: Yuliya Guereyeva, Azerbaijan Gender Information Center, 15 January 2005.