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Tajikistan: Divorced Women Complain about Injustice in Court
In Tajikistan, divorced women complain of being evicted and deprived of their maternal rights after family conflicts.
photo: stock.adobe.com
photo: stock.adobe.com
According to the Ministry of Justice in Tajikistan, at the end of 2021, the number of divorces increased by 3,205 cases, from 10,536 in 2020 to 13,741.
Often disputes arise not only over the partition of the joint property but also over the separation of children.
Often disputes arise not only over the partition of the joint property but also over the separation of children.
Sarvinoz Rajabova, a 34-year-old woman from the Vose district, has not seen her child, who lives with her ex-husband, for the third year.
She got married in 2011 and then gave birth to a son. According to her, a husband mistreated and beat her.
"At home, I was taking care of my mother-in-law, who has a disability. She accused me of cheating and there were constant fights. Seeing all my suffering, my brother took me out of my ex-husband's house and carried me to our house. I never went back," Sarvinoz said.
She divorced her husband on September 6th, 2019, and the court ordered her 8-year-old son to be given to his father. According to Sarvinoz, she hasn't seen the child since then, and attempts to get custody through the court were unsuccessful.
"I went to see my son several times after that, but they wouldn't let me in and chased me away. I tried several times to get my son back through court, but I couldn't. I hired a lawyer and spent a lot of money, but he couldn't do anything either. I could not take my child, I faced a great injustice," Sarvinoz added.
She got married in 2011 and then gave birth to a son. According to her, a husband mistreated and beat her.
"At home, I was taking care of my mother-in-law, who has a disability. She accused me of cheating and there were constant fights. Seeing all my suffering, my brother took me out of my ex-husband's house and carried me to our house. I never went back," Sarvinoz said.
She divorced her husband on September 6th, 2019, and the court ordered her 8-year-old son to be given to his father. According to Sarvinoz, she hasn't seen the child since then, and attempts to get custody through the court were unsuccessful.
"I went to see my son several times after that, but they wouldn't let me in and chased me away. I tried several times to get my son back through court, but I couldn't. I hired a lawyer and spent a lot of money, but he couldn't do anything either. I could not take my child, I faced a great injustice," Sarvinoz added.
It is not infrequent to encounter such women who go to court to get their children back from their ex-husbands but to absolutely no avail.
photo: stock.adobe.com
photo: stock.adobe.com
Sarvinoz is not the only woman in Tajikistan who has found herself in this situation. It is not uncommon for such women to run through the courts to take children from their former husbands, but to have no success.
In this regard, we approached lawyer Fariddun Shoinbekov to find out how to divide child custody and what your rights are after a divorce.
In this regard, we approached lawyer Fariddun Shoinbekov to find out how to divide child custody and what your rights are after a divorce.
What is the procedure for divorce in Tajikistan?
Divorce or, legally speaking, dissolution of marriage is one of the ways to end a marriage. In Tajikistan, the law establishes two options - dissolution by the Civil Registry Office (CRO) and judicial dissolution of marriage.
For example, if the spouses do not have underage children from a joint marriage or the parties agree and do not have any claims to each other, they submit a joint application to the registry office at the place of residence. After one month, they will be divorced and issued a certificate of dissolution of marriage. (Article 42 of the Law "About state registration of acts of civil status").
If one of the parties does not agree, or the spouses have minor children from one marriage, or the parties have any claims in respect of each other, such as the division of property, the marriage of these persons, you can dissolve only through the courts. To dissolve the marriage through the courts, one party shall submit to the court an application for dissolution of marriage. It shall be accompanied by copies of the passports of the spouses, a copy of the certificate of marriage, and a receipt of payment of the state duty. The court is obliged to consider this application within one month from the date of its submission (Articles 21-23 of the Family Code).
For example, if the spouses do not have underage children from a joint marriage or the parties agree and do not have any claims to each other, they submit a joint application to the registry office at the place of residence. After one month, they will be divorced and issued a certificate of dissolution of marriage. (Article 42 of the Law "About state registration of acts of civil status").
If one of the parties does not agree, or the spouses have minor children from one marriage, or the parties have any claims in respect of each other, such as the division of property, the marriage of these persons, you can dissolve only through the courts. To dissolve the marriage through the courts, one party shall submit to the court an application for dissolution of marriage. It shall be accompanied by copies of the passports of the spouses, a copy of the certificate of marriage, and a receipt of payment of the state duty. The court is obliged to consider this application within one month from the date of its submission (Articles 21-23 of the Family Code).
How is property and child custody divided after a divorce?
The law has such a concept as "joint property of spouses". It is considered to be a property that was acquired during their life together. Moreover, the right to the joint property belongs not only to the spouse who has an income but also to the spouse who during married life is running a household, raising children, etc.
Not only the jointly acquired property but also the property that was acquired by one spouse before the marriage may be considered to be the property to be divided if the other spouse proves that his or her efforts have significantly increased the value of the property.
When dividing property, the court will make a decision taking into account the interests of minor children. In other words, the spouse who the children stay with will get a larger share.
Also, when dividing property, the court will pay attention to the contributions of the spouses, their physical and mental condition, and their attitude toward the improvement or deterioration of the property (Articles 34, 36, 38, and 39 of the Family Code).
Parents have a priority right in the upbringing of their children. However, after the divorce, the issue of determining the child's place of residence arises. If there is no agreement between the parents on this issue, the court resolves the dispute. To do this, one of the parents files an application with the court to determine the child's place of residence. When considering this issue, the court takes into consideration the interests of the child, its affection, and, of course, its opinion (Part 1 of Article 63 and Part 4 of Article 65 of the Family Code).
photo: dearmummy.ru
Not only the jointly acquired property but also the property that was acquired by one spouse before the marriage may be considered to be the property to be divided if the other spouse proves that his or her efforts have significantly increased the value of the property.
When dividing property, the court will make a decision taking into account the interests of minor children. In other words, the spouse who the children stay with will get a larger share.
Also, when dividing property, the court will pay attention to the contributions of the spouses, their physical and mental condition, and their attitude toward the improvement or deterioration of the property (Articles 34, 36, 38, and 39 of the Family Code).
Parents have a priority right in the upbringing of their children. However, after the divorce, the issue of determining the child's place of residence arises. If there is no agreement between the parents on this issue, the court resolves the dispute. To do this, one of the parents files an application with the court to determine the child's place of residence. When considering this issue, the court takes into consideration the interests of the child, its affection, and, of course, its opinion (Part 1 of Article 63 and Part 4 of Article 65 of the Family Code).
photo: dearmummy.ru
In what situations does only one parent get to be involved in a child's life and make decisions about the child?
In practice, there are many cases where only one parent is involved in the upbringing of children. If the question refers to the prohibition of participation of one of the parents in the upbringing of the child, this is only possible if the father or mother is deprived of parental rights. The reasons for deprivation of parental rights can be malicious evasion of alimony payment, endangering the life and health of the child, threatening the life of one of the parents, cruel treatment of children, drug addiction, alcoholism, and abuse of parental rights (Article 70 of the Family Code of the Republic of Tajikistan).
What is one parent's responsibility if he or she puts pressure on the child to stay with him or her?
The court decides where the child will live. It is based on the child's interests, affection, and opinion. It should be noted that when such cases are considered by the court, specialists from the guardianship authorities are involved in the process. A special commission is created, which includes educators and psychologists who will communicate with the child. If the members of the commission identify pressure on the child, it can have a negative impact on that parent up to the deprivation of parental rights, of course, if the pressure was exerted with violence (Articles 63 and 70 of the Family Code of the Republic of Tajikistan).
Данный материал подготовлен в рамках проекта IWPR «Amplify, Verify, Engage: Information for Democratisation and Good Governance in Eurasia», финансируемого МИД Норвегии, и программы наставничества проекта «Развитие новых медиа и цифровой журналистики в Центральной Азии», реализуемого Институтом по освещению войны и мира (IWPR) при поддержке Правительства Великобритании. Содержание публикации не отражает официальную точку зрения IWPR, МИД Норвегии или Правительства Великобритании.
