Child marriages in Pakistan have been occurring since the inception of our nation. Furthermore, little has been done to protect children from being coerced into these relations. We need to raise awareness through education and discussion to eradicate this problem. Many children in rural areas are forced into underage marriages; many of these result in huge personal health and societal health issues like sexual harassment or sexually transmitted diseases. 1. Major drivers today
Child marriages today occur for a vast number of reasons but it is noted that most take place in the lower socioeconomic bracket. Severely tough economic conditions, debts and favours owed are major reasons for girls being married off at a young age. Many families prefer underage marriages because at that stage a girl has not developed a mature personality and can be influenced by the family. Statistics show that 21% of girls in Pakistan are married off before the age of 18. Many families who do not have enough resources to support their families are often forced into marrying off their daughters as a way of gaining monetary support. On the other hand, many families are still for child marriages as they believe it is supported by religion. There is a long standing feud between scholars and the government as well; whether Islam allows child marriage or not. 2. The legal aspect
Pakistan’s legal age for marriage for men and women is 18 and 16 respectively. However Sindh is the only province that has voted to increase the minimum age to 18. Legally, in Pakistan you can marry daughters off before they become adults. The rest of the provinces still have to raise the age of marriage from 16 to 18 for girls. Nationwide, as yet, the state does not prohibit girls from getting married who are legally not adults. However in February 2017, the Parliament did toughen the punishment against child marriage. Offenders would now see a sentence of at least 5 years and a fine of 1 million rupees. 3. Sehar Kamran’s contribution
The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) member, Sehar Kamran, is the driving force for the child marriage restraint bill. She moved the bill into the senate’s committee but it was shot down and rejected after the committee termed it as un-islamic. The committee has said that they will reconsider the bill again as Senator Kamran wasn’t present the first time. 4. The Domino effect
Child marriages also have a domino effect into other socioeconomic issues in Pakistan. First of all, pregnancies under the age of 15 are thought to cause 5 times more deaths than women having children in their twenties. Allowing marriage for underage children also opens up pathways to sexual abuse of children and potentially causes permanent physical damages like sexually transmitted diseases. Many of these marriages consist of huge age differences, which also cause communication issues and can often lead to marital problems. It is evident that there are huge problems in our society that start off from child marriage. We need to support the bill moved forward by Senator Kamran and do our best for our children. Children need to be in school at such young ages where they work on their skills and personalities rather than working on mature relationships. For more information on this important issue, visit another article written by Propergaanda recently.