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Azerbaijan is facing a societal challenge as it grapples with a new law prohibiting marriages between close relatives. Despite the legal prohibition, many are finding it difficult to adjust to this significant cultural shift, prompting concerns from legal and medical professionals.

A Clash of Tradition and Law

When tradition clashes with legal mandates, societal norms often prove resilient. Azerbaijan's decision to ban marriages between close kin has created such a scenario, forcing the state to amend its Criminal Code to address the issue.

While global trends, according to UN data, show a decline in consanguineous marriages, they still account for approximately 20% of unions worldwide. This issue remains pertinent in Azerbaijan, where the government is intensifying its efforts to combat it.

Record Low Marriages and Weddings

Statistics from Azerbaijan's Ministry of Justice reveal a demographic shift, with the number of marriages reaching a historical low. In 2025, only 48,477 marriages were registered, a decrease of one thousand compared to 2024. Experts attribute this decline, in part, to the state's prohibition on relative marriages, which previously contributed to marriage statistics.

The impact is also visible in wedding celebrations. In January 2025, 4,717 weddings took place, but this number dropped to 2,694 by July, the month the ban officially took effect.

Legal Implementation and Societal Adaptation

President Ilham Aliyev signed amendments to the Family Code banning marriages between relatives on July 23, 2024. However, the law's implementation was delayed until April 1, 2025, granting society a year to adapt. Despite this grace period, changing deeply ingrained social practices, some dating back centuries, has proven challenging. Authorities have resorted to stricter measures and crackdowns.

Enforcing the Ban

In one instance, authorities intervened to stop a wedding in the Sabirabad district where a 16-year-old girl was to marry her 33-year-old paternal cousin. Preparations for the wedding had already incurred costs of 20,000 manats (approximately 6 million tenge).

Motivations Behind Relative Marriages

Some parents resort to officially renouncing their parental rights over their children as a way to circumvent the law and maintain family ties legally. The underlying reasons often include keeping property within the family, strengthening the family's social standing, and ensuring a daughter's children inherit a prestigious paternal surname.

Medical and Legal Perspectives

The state's stance is clear: marriages between relatives will not be officially registered and will be deemed invalid if discovered. Lawyers emphasize that attempting to bypass the law by renouncing parental rights is futile, as legislation is based on biological kinship.

Medically, unions between blood relatives significantly increase the risk of genetic disorders. Studies indicate that children born from such marriages are more prone to hereditary diseases, hearing and vision impairments, and intellectual disabilities. For example, in England, approximately one in every 14 infant deaths was linked to children born from close relative marriages.

Prohibited Marriages Under the New Law

According to the amendments to the Family Code by Azerbaijan's Ministry of Justice, marriages are prohibited between the following individuals:

Kazakhstan's 'Zheti Ata' Tradition

In Kazakhstan, marriages between close relatives have long been strictly forbidden. The traditional 'Zheti Ata' (Seven Ancestors) custom dictates that Kazakhs must know their paternal lineage up to seven generations, and marriage within this circle is prohibited. This tradition aims to protect future generations from genetic diseases.

This information was reported by the Infohub.kz news agency.