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6 under-age brides were stolen in the south of Kazakhstan in 3 months of 2012 , Tengrinews.kz reports citing a member of the President’s National Commission on Women and Demographic Policy Assiya Khairulina. “6 complaints of brides stealing were registered in South-Kazakhstan oblast between January and March. The conflicts were later resolved by the parties’ conciliation,” Khairulina said at the meeting of the social council of Nur Otan party in the Majilis (Lower Chamber of the Parliament). Besides, according to the statistics presented by the Justice Ministry, over 31,000 marriages with under-aged were registered in Kazakhstan between 2001 and 2012. “That means we have around 3 thousand marriages with under-aged every year,” Assiya Khairulina said and explained why Interior Ministry did not have this statistics. “Interior Ministry tells us that no such crimes were registered. Why? That’s because people find the loopholes in the law, because they cover this up and the families do not apply to the police. The girls are just pressured to stay quiet and not go complaining anywhere.” According to her, the minimum age at which a girl in Kazakhstan is legally allowed to marry in case there are special circumstances is 14 y.o. “One girl was stolen from a school in Almaty oblast. But her parents raise a lot of noise about it and stood up for her. But most of such cases are kept secret,” the member of the National Commission said. Speaking to deputies, she asked them to consider a possibility to banning religious marriages without issuance of official marriage certificates by official authorities and introduce an administrative punishment for parents for marrying off under-aged children. Majilis deputy Dariga Nazarbayeva also commented on religious marriages. “Religious ceremonies are very popular these days. And there is no official line of attitude to them in the society. It has been developing as a tradition so far. This issue needs to be well-though through,” the deputy said. By Renat Tashkinbayev
6 under-age brides were stolen in the south of Kazakhstan in 3 months of 2012 , Tengrinews.kz reports citing a member of the President’s National Commission on Women and Demographic Policy Assiya Khairulina.
“6 complaints of brides stealing were registered in South-Kazakhstan oblast between January and March. The conflicts were later resolved by the parties’ conciliation,” Khairulina said at the meeting of the social council of Nur Otan party in the Majilis (Lower Chamber of the Parliament).
Besides, according to the statistics presented by the Justice Ministry, over 31,000 marriages with under-aged were registered in Kazakhstan between 2001 and 2012.
“That means we have around 3 thousand marriages with under-aged every year,” Assiya Khairulina said and explained why Interior Ministry did not have this statistics. “Interior Ministry tells us that no such crimes were registered. Why? That’s because people find the loopholes in the law, because they cover this up and the families do not apply to the police. The girls are just pressured to stay quiet and not go complaining anywhere.”
According to her, the minimum age at which a girl in Kazakhstan is legally allowed to marry in case there are special circumstances is 14 y.o.
“One girl was stolen from a school in Almaty oblast. But her parents raise a lot of noise about it and stood up for her. But most of such cases are kept secret,” the member of the National Commission said.
Speaking to deputies, she asked them to consider a possibility to banning religious marriages without issuance of official marriage certificates by official authorities and introduce an administrative punishment for parents for marrying off under-aged children.
Majilis deputy Dariga Nazarbayeva also commented on religious marriages.
“Religious ceremonies are very popular these days. And there is no official line of attitude to them in the society. It has been developing as a tradition so far. This issue needs to be well-though through,” the deputy said.
By Renat Tashkinbayev