A child welfare law
EDITORIAL: The Islamabad Capital Territory Child Marriage Restraint (Amendment) Bill signed by President Asif Ali Zardari on Friday marks a significant step in protecting rights of children, adding momentum to reform efforts subsequent to a similar law enacted by Sindh back in 2013.
Raising the minimum legal marriage age to 18 years for both genders, the legislation introduces stringent penalties for those facilitating underage marriages and also classifies sexual relations with minors as statutory rape. It's been warmly welcomed by children and women's rights advocates.
UNICEF Pakistan launched a video campaign on Thursday featuring its National Ambassador for Child Rights, famous film and TV star Saba Qamar. In it, she raises a crucial question: 'Why any child in Pakistan be forced into a marriage and a future they did not choose?' Qamar also emphasises that with all the risks to their health and education, the practice should not be allowed to go unchallenged.
The National Commission on the Status of Women has also hailed the law, noting the amendment is based on extensive consultations and the legal principle that marriage, a legally binding contract, must meet the same foundational requirements as other civil contracts.
In simple words, the two parties to a matrimonial agreement should be able to fully fathom the implications of what they would be getting into. This affirms the familiar and forceful arguments that if under-18 people cannot obtain a national identity card, a driving licence, or serve in the armed forces because they are deemed too immature to make sound decisions the same should apply to a more serious business of getting married.
All the more so, considering that such marriages have lifelong effects on physical and mental development as well as health of underage brides. The UNICEF points out that Pakistan has one of the highest numbers of child brides in the world, with an estimated 19 million girls married before age 18.
Half of them become pregnant before their 18th birthday, posing serious health risks to both mother and child. Besides, only 13 percent of married girls finish secondary school compared to 44 percent of unmarried peers, limiting opportunities for betterment in the future.
Not surprisingly, the new law has drawn criticism from religious parties and like-minded entities. The Council of Islamic Ideology (CII), in its advisory capacity to Parliament on Islamic issues, has taken exception to the legislation, saying Islam permits marriage upon reaching puberty and thus setting a fixed minimum age for it is un-Islamic.
It is pertinent to recall here that the Sindh Child Marriage Restraint Act was challenged in the Federal Shariat Court. And the court had upheld the law, declaring that setting a minimum age for marriage was not against the injunctions of Islam. The way forward, clearly, is to reconcile religious interpretations with contemporary socio-legal norms and needs.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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