Courts in Tajikistan granted 423 people under the age of 18 permission to marry during the first six months of 2026, according to the Supreme Court.

Deputy Supreme Court Chairman Abduqahhor Taghozoda announced the figures at a news conference in Dushanbe on July 22.

He said courts considered 503 applications to lower the legal marriage age. Of these, 423 were approved and 49 were rejected. The Supreme Court did not explain the outcome of the remaining 31 applications.

The number of applications fell sharply compared with the same period of 2025, when courts considered 1,376 requests to lower the marriage age. The authorities did not publish figures showing how many of those applications were approved.

According to the Supreme Court, such requests are most commonly linked to financial hardship, orphanhood and the applicants’ desire to start a family.

“A court may lower the marriage age if marriage and starting a family would help improve the young person’s social circumstances,” Taghozoda said.

The Supreme Court did not specify how many of the applications were submitted by young women and how many by young men.

Early marriage linked to family breakdown

Taghozoda acknowledged that early marriage remains one of the factors contributing to family breakdown.

He said young people are often unprepared for married life and lack the experience needed to maintain stable family relationships.

Courts have therefore been advised to allow people under 18 to marry only when doing so would genuinely improve their social circumstances and help strengthen the future family, he said.

However, the Supreme Court did not explain what criteria judges use to assess whether a marriage would “improve social circumstances” or “strengthen the future family.”

According to the Committee on Women and Family Affairs, 27,563 marriages were registered in Tajikistan during the first half of 2026, down by 2,793 from the same period last year.

Under Tajik law, the minimum legal age for marriage is 18. Article 13 of the Family Code allows courts to lower it to 17 in exceptional circumstances.

Marriage involving a person under 18 without court permission is a criminal offence. Depending on the circumstances, penalties range from a fine to up to five years in prison.