Baku, Azerbaijan, August 6
By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:
Turkey will fight against early marriages, which are one of the major social problems of the country, Turkish Health Minister Mehmet Muazzinoglu said, according to Turkey`s "Milliyet" newspaper.
Despite all the measures taken in Turkey, the problem of early marriage in the country has not lost its relevance, he said.
Some 91,208 early marriages were recorded in turkey from 2007 to present, the minister said.
Istanbul leads with 6,586 marriages since 2007, followed by Izmir (5714) and Adam (5181), in the number of early marriages in Turkey, according to Muazzinoglu.
The organizations on human rights protection and NGOs in Turkey agree that early marriage equates to sexual offenses against children.
Earlier it was reported that in May Turkish Minister for Family and Social Policy Ayshenur Islam said penalties for sexual offenses against children has been toughen in the country.
All Turkish society should fight to sexual offenses against children, she said.
Edited by CN