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Two boys forced into early marriages in Azerbaijan last year, says deputy minister

16 December 2015 11:15 (UTC +04:00)

He made the remarks on Wednesday during the international conference on “Strengthening of efforts to prevent early marriages” organized by of the State Committee for Family, Women and Children Affairs in Baku.

Isayev said that children to unmarried mothers hit 14.9 percent in Azerbaijan. 61.6 percent of these mothers live in rural areas. “In 1990, the number of children born to unmarried mothers was higher in cities, but since 2003 this figure has become prevalent in rural areas,” he noted.

According to him, studies have shown that most of the schoolgirls, who dropped out of school, have entered into early marriages.

Isayev said that early marriage is actually a social event leading to numerous problems in the newly-established families. “In 2014, mothers at the age of 15-17 gave birth to a total of 3,296 babies (1,054 in cities and 2,242 in rural areas). It is disappointing that 279 of mothers aged 15-19 gave birth to their second babies, and 9 to third babies. 158 of mothers aged 18-19 gave birth to third babies,” he added.

He said studies have revealed that early marriages are prevalent among low-income families in Azerbaijan.