Consanguineous marriages mean children who have the same grandparents, father and mother.

Bahar Muradova, the chairman of the State Committee on Family, Women and Children's Problems, expressed these views during a public discussion on consanguineous marriages at the Social Research Center.

The chairman of the committee said that consanguineous marriages in Azerbaijan are more based on traditions: "This ultimately leads to negative consequences for children's health. The issue is under the attention of the government."

The chairman of the committee added that according to the amendment to the Family Code in 2015, a medical examination was required before marriage: "As a result of this requirement, the birth of disabled children was prevented. In 2021, 2,363 consanguineous marriages were registered. 204 of them resulted in divorce. In 2022, there were 2,542 consanguineous marriages and 608 divorces."

Rizvan FIKROTOGLU