Azerbaijani parliamentarians wish to raise the minimum age for marriage to 18.

“Women’s rights activists say corrupted religious officials are prepared to conduct Islamic ceremonies for couples when the woman is too young for a state service, leaving her unprotected if her husband leaves her, uneducated and vulnerable to medical complications,” IWPR e-source informs Nov. 6.

In case legal amendments suggested by Chairman of the Commission for Social Policy, Hadi Rajabli, are adopted, the minimum age for marriage will be raised for 1 year (from 17 to 18).

Experts say early marriages are a risk both to the health of the mother and the child. However, the 15-year-old girls say they are happy to take the risks and leave the school.

“Islamic law does not give a precise date when a girl can get married. Kitab al-Nikah (the book of marriage) gives marriageable age once a girl reaches sexual maturity. This age can vary from 9 to 14,” the source reads.

However, religious officials are ready to “break the law and conduct a religious marriage without the necessary documents. An illegal marriage costs 500 manats (about USD 625),” said Haji Surkhay Mamadli, a religious leader and imam of the Juma mosque.