The father of a 15-year-old bride from Surkhandarya said he didn’t know about his daughter’s wedding

A video message circulated on social media from the father of a 15-year-old girl who was married to a 28-year-old man in Surkhandarya region, in which the man stated that he did not know about the wedding and asked law enforcement to investigate the situation.

In his statement, the man said that his wife left for Russia several years ago, citing illness, and left the girl with her mother. After some time, the man’s mother-in-law took the girl and two other sons with her, and the man, according to her, was deprived of the opportunity to see his children.

I was even sentenced to 15 days for trying to visit my children. Although I’m not divorced and have the right to. The mahalla chairman and the district officer knew about this, but no one allowed me to take my children, — the girl’s father said.

The man also noted that he did not know about the upcoming wedding and the girl was given away without his consent. The girl’s father said that if he had known, he would have stopped the wedding by force. In his appeal, the man appealed to law enforcement and asked to conduct a fair investigation and punish all those involved.

As a reminder, the incident occurred on July 8, 2025, in the Ozod neighborhood of Denov district. Law enforcement officers found that a 68-year-old local resident organized a wedding ceremony for her 15-year-old granddaughter. The groom turned out to be a 28-year-old man. Earlier, the family had already received an official warning from law enforcement officers for attempting to marry off a minor girl.

In addition, since the girl was a minor, it was not possible to officially register the marriage, however, the 75-year-old citizen agreed to conduct a religious wedding ceremony for the family for a material reward.

As a result, law enforcement officers initiated a criminal case against the man under Article 125-1 (Violation of the legislation on marriageable age or the procedure for concluding a marriage), and against the girl’s spouse under Article 128 (Intention in sexual relations with a person under the age of sixteen). Currently, investigative actions are underway.

Earlier, it was reported that Uzbekistan wants to strengthen punishment for sexual violence and pornography with the image of children. The authorities also plan to regulate the procedure for interrogating minors to reduce their psychological burden.