WIFE X

1.3 per cent of women in Azerbaijan, who married before 18, have not even received primary education, the UN Population Fund says in a report. The report notes that 26 per cent of these girls in Azerbaijan received only primary education, while 11.8 per cent - secondary education and above.Based on data from 2000 to 2011, 12.2 per cent of marriages in Azerbaijan were concluded before the bride came of age. And most of these marriages are concluded in rural areas (15.2 per cent) than in urban areas of Azerbaijan (9.6 per cent). At the same time, there are no marriages with girls under 15 in Azerbaijan, which is still observed in some countries.

Due to national and cultural practices, early marriages have always been prevalent in Azerbaijan. There is still such a practice today. The presence of this phenomenon in modern conditions causes significant damage to the health of society. The situation is aggravated by the fact that brides who are married have not only no higher education, but even secondary education.

We live in the 21st century. The world is ruled by corporations, nanotechnology and social networks. We are still faced with phenomena that honestly existed during the centuries allocated to them by national traditions but did not disappear, turning into an ugly relic of the past.

How it happens

Narmin (name changed) married for love at 16. Her husband was not much older than her - he was barely 20. But the romantic relationship and marriage, which inevitably accompanies the young couple at first, was subjected to harsh realities in the same natural way. In fact, they were not so harsh. Her husband showed admirable diligence, got a good job and quickly took off. The wife, as required by tradition, had rather straightforward requirements: to bear and raise children, heirs. Life was getting better. The wife stayed at home provided for by her husband, gave birth to one child after another, and he learned the various aspects of secular life, not shunning relationships with other women. The legitimate second half, meanwhile, stayed in the family nest in the company of her mother-in-law in a familiar powerless position. Friends and relatives more and more often noticed bruises on her face and hands, but the woman did not think of protesting and fighting against the tyranny of the family members.

It sounds familiar, doesn't it? Who has not heard of it from relatives, friends and neighbours? And most often, everything is perceived quite calmly: yes, she is uneducated, and what does a woman need education for, let her husband provide for his family, and that she married early is also good, grandchildren will be born while she is still young. And few will think that a girl who started a family at 16-17 without even finishing school is not an honourable national feature and is at times the tragedy of not just one individual, but a social problem of considerable scale.

The Women's Crisis Centre often encounters such cases. The problem of early marriage is still one of the most acute problems in regions of the country, as well as in major cities, including Baku. There are frequent cases when a young creature with no higher education and sometimes with incomplete secondary education is at best engaged and at worst already has one, or even two or three children. And children are not a guarantee that the marriage was successful. According to statistics, early marriages fail more often than those concluded at a more "mature" and conscious age. There are several reasons. First, the girl often has not even reached childbearing age, which is the cause of complaints by the husband: "You are unable to give me an heir." Second, young spouses often do not have the basic skills of resolving ordinary domestic conflicts, which is why a purely family "dispute" between Romeo and Juliet often involves senior members of both families and the parents, which sometimes results in very unflattering results. In addition, young age is often a factor in domestic violence, which is expressed not only in physical, but also in psychological, sexual and economic pressure.

No education

The origins of this problem should be sought in the traditions the main "tool" of which is still the parents. This is especially noticeable in the regions. If you visit a secondary school, it is easy to notice a gender imbalance: in higher grades, the number of girls is significantly lower than the number of boys, in other words, there are almost no girls. Parents (mostly fathers, which corresponds to patriarchy) believe that the girl does not need to continue her education - it is better if she sits at home and learns the wisdom of the household - and it is useful in life.

What is regrettable is that in both Baku and other cities, such cases are not uncommon. Girls often call the crisis centre, of course, secretly from their parents, asking for professional assistance. For example, they call and say that her father does not allow her to attend school, that she is already engaged with her cousin, etc.

Assistance is often extremely difficult. The main problem is the necessity and requirement to remain anonymous. Again, the regions take first place: here everyone knows everyone, almost everyone is a relative, and an appeal to human rights or non-governmental organizations will not only lead to gossip, but will be a major embarrassment for the girl. Many turn to the centre not directly, but through phone calls, email, social networks, and beg for their identity not to be disclosed.

Education is, perhaps, one of the key issues in the problem of early marriages. As already mentioned, some girls in higher grades do not attend school, not to mention the "unnecessary" higher or at least vocational education and mastery of some profession. Gaps in education often do not give young families the opportunity to solve the most basic problems: with the registration of births, getting documents to send them to school, with frequent divorce and division of property. What is more dangerous is when the lack of knowledge threatens the life of the child. "For example, I was visited by a family whose members had almost no education and did not know how to read. The husband worked as an apprentice to a butcher in the bazaar, and the wife, of course, stayed at home. And they were not going to send their son to school - why? When he grows up, he will continue his father's profession. Once the child was ill with pneumonia, and the father did not allow a doctor to be called, saying my mother treated me without drugs and doctors, therefore, we will not call a doctor. The situation and the life of the child were saved by neighbours who accidentally popped in," said an employee of the centre.

In short, early marriage is, by definition, an end to a girl's education. Thoughts of graduating from school or university rarely cross the minds of well-established young matrons and homemakers, and if they do, their implementation is almost impossible: in the event of a successful marriage, life issues absorb them, and why study if there is the husband who provides for the family? If the family falls apart, then, at best, the wife returns to her parents with the children and at worst, she is left high and dry and is forced to look for work and food. In this case, she gets a low-skilled jobs, becomes a dishwasher, cleaner, waitress, and at times - and a victim of fraud when she becomes a prostitute, while education and profession received in good time could help her to survive.

Ask the "law enforcer"

The scale of the problem of early marriages is such that many agencies are dealing with it at the same time: NGOs, government agencies for child custody, the State Committee for Family, Women and Children, etc.

The State Committee for Family, Women and Children told R+ that the state is currently taking many measures, and the most important of them is the adoption of an appropriate bill. In addition to the age limit of 18 years, the bill provides for the need to obtain the written consent of both parties to the marriage, as well as for criminal liability for persons under that age and for individuals who force them to do so.

A huge role is allocated to regional authorities and divisional inspectors. Each divisional inspector always has more or less full information about all families living in his area. His role should be prevention and control, the "law enforcer" should be aware whether younger members of a family, especially the girls, attend school, and if necessary and when domestic violence is detected - not allowing someone to attend an educational institution is considered to be domestic violence - he should intervene or notify appropriate responsible agencies. 

However, despite the abundance of the measures taken and the fact that criminal liability is stipulated for those who force someone into marriage, not a single criminal case has been recorded, according to the head of the State Committee for Family, Women and Children, Hicran Huseynova. This suggests that control over the implementation of this law is relatively weak.