Child marriage across the Caucasus: why laws alone aren’t enough

While child marriage persists behind closed doors in the Caucasus and across Eurasia, Equality Now is working to strengthen state responses.

‘My husband even kidnapped me, but I still thought that having a family was something good’, Nino (not her real name) remembers. She was only 15 when she got married but she did not really think that it was a bad idea.

‘In reality, I lost so much: my childhood, my youth, my education’.

She comes from Marneuli, in southern Georgia, where society pressures often speak louder than a girl’s voice. Consent and choice were not part of the conversation.

‘I studied at school until the 10th grade, but once I got married, they immediately pulled me out. I desperately wanted to escape that family and return to my classmates, but married girls were not allowed to do that’, she says.

Her story is one of many across Eurasia — where child, early, and forced marriage (CEFM) continues despite reforms, despite awareness campaigns, and despite the growing evidence of long-term harm for girls’ safety, education, health, and economic independence.

A regional pattern with deep roots

Research by Equality Now and partners in their Breaking Barriers: Addressing Child, Early and Forced Marriage in Eurasia (2024) report shows that CEFM remains a persistent issue in Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, and in parts of the North Caucasus of Russia. While contexts differ, the drivers often intersect — limited access to schooling, social pressure, poverty, and norms that prioritise family reputation over a girl’s choice.

Equality Now is an international human rights organisation that uses the power of the law to protect and promote the rights of women and girls around the world. The organisation partners with local actors, investigates legal gaps, and advocates for policy and legislative reforms to align national laws with international human rights standards.

For example, in Armenia, the law prohibits marriage until 18, but exceptions remain, and Equality Now’s research notes that informal or traditional ceremonies continue in some communities before a civil registration takes place. These practices, particularly documented among rural and minority households, often coincide with girls leaving school, making early marriage both a cause and consequence of educational exclusion.

Across the region, families sometimes rely on religious or unregistered ceremonies, meaning marriages involving minors do not appear in official statistics and are rarely detected early. Janette Akhilgova, Equality Now’s Eurasia consultant, also noted that religious marriages are hard to control, and choosing this way to get married prevents the state from knowing it has taken place. She noted that families rely on such practices because ‘girls are supposed to marry very early because there are strong cultural norms’.

Equality Now frames CEFM as gender-based violence and as a violation not only of bodily autonomy, but also of rights to education, health, and protection from exploitation.

State systems are improving, but they are not yet designed to prevent CEFM. In many cases, intervention happens only when a crisis escalates — when a girl becomes pregnant, disappears from school, or arrives at a hospital with injuries. Tamar Dekanosidze, Equality Now’s regional representative for Eurasia, said law enforcement ‘typically only find out about such cases when a minor becomes pregnant and a medical institution provides this information’.

Gaps in legislation, enforcement, and support

In several countries, legislation still allows minors to marry under certain conditions or by practice through informal ceremonies. Dekanosidze said the issue is often not recognised as a rights violation and may be perceived as a cultural tradition. She added that ‘the problem is deeper than criminal justice alone — access to education, healthcare, and early support must be part of the solution’.

In Azerbaijan, unregistered religious ceremonies — known as ‘kabin’ — allow families to marry off girls as young as 15 without state oversight. Legal expert Leyla Suleymanova described these ceremonies as enabling families to bypass civil law, noting that cases often surface only when health complications or pregnancy occur.

‘Despite legal reforms, early and forced marriages continue in both formal and informal forms, particularly through religious ceremonies (‘kabin’) and in economically vulnerable regions’, Suleymanova said.

Data from Azerbaijan reflects this gap. Official figures recorded 1,279 live births from mothers under 18 in 2024, while only 185 registered marriages involved minors that same year. The significant discrepancy suggests many unions remain invisible to the formal system.

Recent media reports, including the widely discussed 2025 case in Aghjabadi involving a 13-year-old married in a religious ceremony, and the death of a pregnant 17-year-old on her wedding day in Shirvan, have raised further concerns about detection and protection.

Feminist and activist Gulnara Mehdiyeva also mentions the same cases and thinks that the Azerbaijani government prefers to speak about family stability rather than helping girls avoid further exploitation.

Suleymanova notes that recent legal reforms in Azerbaijan focus predominantly on punishment, warning that such an approach may result in families avoiding formal systems.

‘Without long-term awareness efforts, punitive laws risk pushing practices underground’, she added.

Taken together, these insights point to a broader structural issue: systems of protection, enforcement, and social support have not kept pace with legal change.

Dekanosidze, talking about the Georgian example, added that courts ‘very rarely impose real punishments’, noting that fines or non-custodial measures remain common, which ‘fails to prevent these crimes because judges and police are part of the same communities where child marriage is normalised’.

From research to reform: how Equality Now works with states

Equality Now works across the region on legislative standards, statutory rape and age-of-consent provisions, criminal liability for forced marriage, and improving access to justice. In Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, the organisation launched actions to analyse the prevalence, causes, and consequences of CEFM.

"We started by talking about our reports and bringing people to a round table where we can discuss the issues that need to be addressed”, Akhilgova said.

She explained that the process begins with research and consultations with civil society and state institutions to understand how the practice is addressed by police, prosecutors, and courts.

‘We are doing research, legal and problem analysis, and developing policy papers with recommendations,’ Akhilgova said, adding that these findings will inform future cooperation with governments.

‘After the research is done, we will have a wide set of recommendations for local governments on how to eliminate child and forced marriage’, she added.

Validation processes are expected to involve state bodies, child rights commissioners, and civil society partners, with the goal, she said, ‘to support governments in aligning policies with their international obligations’.

Equality Now’s previous publications — including Roadblocks to Justice (2019) and Courage: Survivors of Child Marriage in Georgia (2020) — highlighted obstacles survivors face when seeking justice and brought survivors’ voices into national policy discussions. Beyond research and advocacy, the organisation is engaged in building cooperation with state structures.

‘In Uzbekistan, we are establishing formal cooperation with the Ombudsman’s Office, the Commission on the Rights of the Child, and the Prosecutor General’s Office’, Akhilgova said. In Kyrgyzstan, she noted, the organisation works closely with the Commissioner on the Rights of the Child and child-rights organisations, though ‘the process is slower’ in some contexts.

The human impact behind the statistics

Numbers alone do not reflect the long-term consequences for those affected. Survivors interviewed described how early marriage limited their education, employment opportunities, and financial independence.

For Nino, recognition of the harm came gradually. She recalled that she felt unable to leave because relatives insisted that she ‘shouldn’t ruin’ her marriage’. She said she feared that her children would ‘blame [her] for taking their father away’.

Change came only when her teenage daughter contacted the authorities during a violent incident.

‘After my daughter took a step and I saw that strength in her, everything changed,’ she said, adding that the moment reshaped how she understood victimhood and agency.

‘She was 13 at the time, and she said, “How long do I have to be a victim of my own father?” We started standing by each other. I never knew my child was that strong, and I was very proud of her’, she added.

Her experience parallels findings in Equality Now’s research, which shows that survivors often rely on their children, neighbours, or teachers rather than formal services, particularly when stigma or limited access deters reporting.

Experts and survivors alike stressed the importance of prevention through information. Nino said schools could play a key role by discussing early marriage and helping children understand their rights before decisions are made for them.

‘It would probably be best if schools talked more about early marriage’, she said.

Looking ahead: reform, prevention, and awareness

Equality Now argues that sustainable solutions require more than criminal penalties. Dekanosidze said that the main issues include access to education and healthcare, economic empowerment, as well as raising awareness on gender equality — areas that she believes must be part of broader policy reforms.

Equality Now’s long-term vision is a region in which girls can choose whether, when, and whom to marry — and pursue education, employment, and relationships without coercion or fear.

The organisation calls on governments to implement legal reforms fully, close loopholes, and develop standard procedures that allow early intervention. Institutions — schools, health services, and law enforcement — are encouraged to coordinate responses and make support accessible beyond capital cities. Communities and the public can contribute by sharing information and challenging norms that enable early marriage to continue quietly.

CEFM remains preventable, but only if recognised not as a private matter, but as an issue requiring systemic action. Equality Now invites readers, policymakers, and advocates to engage with its latest research, access its policy recommendations, and support efforts for legislative change across Eurasia.