“The polemics in some media platforms recently on whether the ‘one marriage principle meets the reality of Azerbaijan’ is a matter of serious concern.”
Elchi.az reports that these words were said by Taliya Ibrahimova, Head of the Legal Support Department of the State Committee for Family, Women and Children Affairs.
It was stated that although such approaches outwardly give the impression of public discussion, in essence, they form a dangerous discourse aimed at questioning the fundamental legal principles that form the basis of the family policy of the Republic of Azerbaijan and, indirectly, normalizing polygamy:
“The State Committee for Family, Women and Children Affairs states unequivocally that the ‘one marriage principle’ is a legal norm enshrined in the family legislation of the Republic of Azerbaijan and is one of the main pillars of the state’s family policy. Undermining this norm under the name of ‘public reality’ contradicts the concept of the rule of law and serves to distort the essence of the family institution.
“Media entities should take into account that the family institution is an area of state policy of strategic importance in terms of public stability, social justice and protection of human rights.
It should be remembered that questioning the principle of one marriage seriously undermines the protection of the rights of women and children, putting their legal guarantees in family relations at risk. The State Committee for Family, Women and Children Affairs considers unacceptable approaches that create conditions for polygamy to be presented as an indirectly acceptable idea. Media entities and social media platforms should take a more responsible position on issues related to family policy and not allow discussions that open the way for discourses that are dangerous to society.
The State Committee declares once again that questioning in any form the fundamental principles of the Azerbaijani Family, based on universal values such as equality of rights of women and men, the priority of children’s interests and the voluntariness of marriage, is unacceptable and contradicts the state’s family policy,” the report said.