Tajikistan’s lower house of parliament on January 13 voted to make it illegal to give babies non-Tajik names or to seal nuptials without a medical certificate.
Coming to the aid of new parents, the language and terminology committee at the academy of sciences is drawing up a list of 4,000 suitable names. Ethnic minorities will be allowed to name their children according to their own cultural traditions, reports eurasianet.org. Also, stricter rules on marriage have been introduced partly as a way of reducing the incidence of disabilities among children, which officials argue are the result of intensive inbreeding. Consequently, marriage among cousins and cousins-once-removed is forbidden. According to the health ministry, there are 30,000 children with congenital disabilities in Tajikistan. Even non-relatives will be required to undergo a battery of tests for HIV/AIDS, hepatitis and other sexually transmitted diseases. Medical examinations will be conducted at the state’s expense, health officials say. In a further bid to stem the spread of disease, labor migrants returning from abroad are also to be tested.
