DUSHANBE, January 13, 2016, Asia-Plus -- Tajikistan’s lower house (Majlisi Namoyandagon) of parliament has endorsed a bill amending the country’s law on registration of acts of civil status and family code.

A regular sitting of the second session of Majlisi Namoyandagon of the fifth convocation, presided over by its head, Shukurjon Zuhurov, was held on January 13.

Presenting the bill, the Minister of Health and Social Protection Nusratullo Saidzoda noted that the amendments offered to the family code and the law on registration of acts of civil status by the government, in particular, required couples who want to marry to undergo a mandatory medical examination.

According to him, the legislation aims to prevent close relatives from marrying each other.

“More than 30,000 children with disabilities have been registered in the country by 2015, and the majority of them were born with genetic disabilities due to cousin marriages,” the minister said.

Beginning on July 1, 2016, couples who want to marry will have to undergo the mandatory medical examination.  

However, after familiarizing themselves with medical opinion couples will decide themselves weather to enter into marriage or not.

We will recall that the push to mandate the exams comes after President Emomali Rahmon in January this year instructed the government to ban consanguineous marriages – marriages between first cousins and other blood relations – which he blamed for causing the majority of disabilities among Tajik children.

Under 2006 legislation, genetic and virginity tests are currently available free-of-charge in Tajikistan – but they are not mandatory.

Meanwhile, labor migrants returning home from foreign countries will also have to undergo a medical examination for various infectious diseases.