Public hearings were held in the Parliament of Armenia where the raising of the marriage age was discussed.
Publika.az reports that the co-author of the proposed changes, deputy Rustam Bakoyan, said that such a need arose considering the practice of continuing early marriages among national minorities, especially the Yezidi community.
“Raising the age limit for marriage is important to overcome the difficulties faced by the Yezidi community. There are traditions that harm us and create complexes,” he said.
Bakoyan added that he receives many calls from representatives of the Yezidi community about early marriages and bride kidnapping. He considered this practice unacceptable. In turn, Armenian ombudsman Anahit Avanesyan noted that early marriages constitute a large percentage, especially in the Yezidi community, and because of this, a number of children’s rights are violated. He believes that concrete steps need to be taken to solve the problem.
“The problem is systemic, so solutions must be comprehensive. But we must use a soft methodology,” the ombudsman said.
In turn, Deputy Education Minister Araksiya Svachyan said that 1,319 Yezidi girls are currently studying in schools in Armenia. According to his information, 171 of them stopped going to school in 2023.
“Mostly, girls leave school in grades 10-12. Thus, 52.7 percent of Yezidi girls leave school after the 9th grade, 65.5 percent after the 10th grade, and 88.2 percent after the 11th grade. is leaving,” the minister said.
It should be noted that the marriage age in Armenia is 18 years according to the current legislation. A person can get married at the age of 17 with the consent of their parents, adoptive parents or guardian.
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