DUSHANBE, January 24, 2012, Asia-Plus -- At least 16 cases of underage girls being forced into marriage have been reported in Tajikistan’s southern Khatlon province, Radio Liberty’s Tajik Service reported on January 23.

Tajik parliamentary deputy Saodat Amirshoyeva told RFE/RL''s Tajik Service that some parents forge the documents of their daughters in order to make it appear that the girls are 18 years old and eligible for marriage.

Local authorities have obliged religious clerics to report on all Islamic wedding procedures held on a weekly basis.

The clerics are not allowed to hold a wedding ceremony in a mosque for couples who do not have official documents proving the registration of their marriage.