Forced Into Underage Marriages, Kyrgyz And Tajik Girls See Dreams Derailed

Nigora was a 17-year-old student in Tajikistan when her father decided she should marry a distant relative.

Nigora’s mother had died two years earlier, and she was unable to go against her father’s wishes. She married Komil, a 25-year-old construction worker, and stopped attending school so she could do chores for her husband’s family.

"Starting early in the morning, I swept the yard, milked the cow, cleaned up after the cattle, baked bread, and cooked breakfast for everyone. Laundry, washing dishes, then lunch, then dinner. And so on every day. I didn't have a minute to rest,” Nigora said. “I was exhausted mentally and physically. Once my sister-in-law tried to help, but my mother-in-law immediately interrupted her, [saying:] ‘What is a daughter-in-law in the house for?’"

Nigora soon became pregnant, but she suffered a miscarriage. Her second pregnancy ended in miscarriage as well. Her husband’s relatives accused her of "being unable to give birth" and insisted on a divorce.

Now 19, Nigora is again living at her father’s house, her dream of finishing school far out of reach. "I feel useless. I have no education, no money, and I don't know where to start," she said.

There are countless stories like Nigora’s in Tajikistan and elsewhere in Central Asia, where girls are frequently forced into marriage before reaching adulthood.

Stolen Childhoods: Underage Marriages Still Haunt Central Asia

According to Equality Now, an international NGO advocating for women’s rights, about 9 percent of marriages in Tajikistan involve a girl under 18. In Kyrgyzstan, the number is around 13 percent.

International agreements, like the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, set the minimum age of marriage at 18. But in Tajikistan and elsewhere, local customs and legal loopholes allow young teens to be married without their consent.

Severe And Lasting Impact

In some cases, the marriage of a minor is approved by a judge, who can justify the decision by citing financial hardship faced by the girl’s family.

Dariana Gryaznova, a legal adviser for Equality Now, explained some of the ways early marriage can have what she called a severe and lasting impact on girls.

“First of all, there’s a loss of education and opportunities,” Gryaznova said. “Most girls are forced to drop out of school once they're married, and of course this limits their ability to pursue higher education, employment, and independence.”

Gryaznova notes that early pregnancies are common for girls married as teens, and can carry elevated risks, including potential complications during childbirth.

Underage marriage can also mean the potential for girls to be exposed to physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, “because child and forced marriages imply unequal power relations,” Gryaznova said. Young victims are often unable to leave abusive situations because of their economic dependence on their husbands.

In Kyrgyzstan, some girls are subjected to kidnapping by suitors, aided by friends or relatives who support a forced marriage.

Asel was 16 and enrolled in the ninth grade when she was abducted. Her kidnapper, Ilshat, was an acquaintance nine years her senior.

“He wrote and called and we talked a little. And then one day he drove up with his friends when I was going to the store and just kidnapped me,” Asel said. “He brought me home, where his relatives were already waiting for me.”

“The next day they called my parents,” Asel said. “They came, but they did not take me home with them. They said that I was already Ilshat's wife, and that it was a Kyrgyz tradition.”

Asel had hoped to enroll in art school before she was forced to marry. “Now I don't even remember the last time I held a brush in my hands,” she said. “I want to express what's inside me, but I have neither the time nor the strength.”

'This Is Your Life'

Gryaznova says that both Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan have taken steps intended to close some of the loopholes allowing underage marriages.

“In Kyrgyzstan, the Criminal Code was amended, and child [marriage] and forced marriage have been criminalized,” Gryaznova said.

But she warns that legal measures have a limited impact unless they’re accompanied by measures that address the social marginalization of women and girls.

“This multi-sectoral approach includes strengthening legal frameworks, raising public awareness, providing comprehensive support services, enabling economic empowerment, and engaging communities,” Gryaznova said. “Because it's not enough to change something in the law.”

Nigora wants to help other girls and young women avoid the fate that she endured. Her advice to others: “Get married only when you want it and are ready,” she said.

“This is your life. And it should start with your consent.”