Imams in eastern Georgia refuse to endorse early marriages
Religious leaders in the Pankisi Gorge region in eastern Georgia will no longer endorse marriages under the age of 18 in line with the legal regulations in the country. The decision was made by imams together with the Council of Elders in the region.Date:
In Pankisi, which is located in the eastern Kakheti region of Georgia and is mostly populated by ethnic Kists, early marriages are most common among girls aged 16-17. Although the trend is no longer growing compared with previous years, here, girls are deemed ready for marriage after they finish school. Religious leaders enjoy a high level of authority in Pankisi and their choice to make a public statement about discouraging early marriages is of paramount importance. It is noteworthy that the Council of Women Elders has contributed a lot to making this decision.
The initiative emerged in November 2015 when Pankisi’s Council of Women Elders and the Kakheti Regional Development Foundation (KRDF) organized a rally against early marriages, as part of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence. Iza Bekauri, Director of KRDF and one of the founders of the Council of Women Elders, says that the Council of Elders were also invited to the event: “We met with the youths and called them to say NO to early marriages. We have worked with the Council of Elders too in this respect. They liked the initiative and decided to make this topic public.”
Pankisi’s Council of Women Elders was established in the Gorge in 2011, with the support of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. Since 2014, the Council has also been cooperating intensively with UN Women. It consists of 18 women and its main activities are focused on women’s rights, as well as advocating for women’s issues with the male Council of Elders. The Council of Women Elders has a role to mediate between local women and elderly men while trying to raise the issue of women’s rights in an appropriate manner and advocating for fair decisions in favor of women.
In response to UN Women's call to world leaders to "Step It Up", at the Global Leaders' Meeting on 27 September 2015, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili committed to work with development partners to prevent early marriages, with activities on this issue coordinated by an inter-sectorial taskforce. He also pledged dedicated awareness raising-campaigns to combat violence against women and girls and to stop early marriages.
To read the full story visit UN Women’s country website for Georgia.