“Cases of teenage pregnancy among 13-14-year-old girls are on the rise in Uzbekistan” – Senate

At the meeting of the Senate Council of Oliy Majlis chaired by Tanzila Narbayeva, the issues of early marriage and early pregnancy, as well as measures to address the problems of family divorce were considered.

“In recent years, the number of teenage pregnancy among girls under the age of 18 has decreased, more than 1,500 such cases were registered in 2018, and 1,200 cases – in 2019. In the first quarter of this year, 231 cases were recorded.

Despite the work being done, it was stressed that there are a number of problems in this field. According to the analysis, this problem is primarily caused by the lack of legal literacy and the medical culture of the population.

It is also worrying that the number of early pregnancy among underage girls, especially among girls aged 13-14, is growing,” the press service of the upper house of Parliament said.

It was noted that about half of the schoolgirls with early pregnancies and premature births live in families without parents. The Senate report notes that family insecurity, parental unemployment, or low incomes also have a negative impact on girls’ upbringing.

“Premature and unwanted births, young people’s unpreparedness for family relationships, and social-moral instability in the family are also contributing to the crime of child trafficking.

In order to eliminate such problems, the Senate Council approved a comprehensive program of measures for 2020-2021 to address the problems of early marriage and early childbirth, as well as family divorce.

Relevant resolutions of the Senate Council of Oliy Majlis have been adopted on the issues considered at the meeting,” the report reads.

It should be recalled that as of September 2019, there were 50 cases of early pregnancy among girls under 17 in Uzbekistan.