perspective-child marriage

Child Marriages – A Vicious Cycle of Poverty and Abuse

KARACHI: Despite being illegal, child marriages continue to affect millions of young lives, perpetuating cycles of poverty, gender bias, and inequality. According to a study, 18 percent of girls in Pakistan get married before the age of 18, leading to severe consequences on their health, education, and overall well-being. This was revealed at The Express Tribune podcast hosted by Aisha…

Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929 and Jinnah

The Child Marriage Restraint Act 1929 was drafted by Quaid-i-Azam- Mohammad Ali Jinnah (Father of the Nation) and introduced by a Hindu, Rai Haridas Sarda, and is also known as the Sarda Bill. Jinnah was very concerned about the widespread child marriage in British India, which he considered a violation…

The Unfortunate Trend Of Child Marriage

Child Marriage, one of the unfortunate and rampant trends, takes place in…

A Silent Epidemic: Child Sexual Abuse in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Thirteen-year-old Asim* was quieter than usual when he returned to his home…

Equal Marriage

THE Supreme Court recently issued a verdict advocating equal rights in marriage. The verdict originated from an appeal filed by a divorced couple opposing the dower provisions in the nikahnama. The female petitioner had challenged an earlier Lahore High Court judgement, which maintained that entries in the nikahnama be interpreted…

The Age Of Consent And The Borders Of Belief

ICT Child Marriage Restraint Act, 2025 marks a pivotal step toward a safer, progressive Pakistan KARACHI. Child rights organisations and advocates, along with concerned citizens, have warmly welcomed the passage of recent legislation on child marriages, describing it as a landmark step toward protecting the rights and well-being of children.…

STOLEN CHILDHOODS, SILENT TEARS

In the quiet courtyards of rural Pakistan, a 13-year-old girl is pulled from her school desk and handed a bridal dress. Her childhood ends not with celebration, but with chores, early pregnancy, and a silence enforced by custom. This is not a regional anomaly; it is a national emergency. According…

Criminalising Child Marriage

CHILD marriage persists in Pakistan for many reasons, and ending the practice requires measures that are sensitive to the problem’s complexity. Debates on child marriage tend to reduce this complexity to two opposing legal positions. Proponents of gender equality and child welfare support higher minimum age limits for child marriage…

Save The Girls

SOME traditions that hinder individual progress are a heavy cross for society to bear. In Pakistan’s deeply patriarchal environment, where a female child’s agency is determined by her biological age, President Asif Zardari’s assent to the Islamabad Capital Territory Child Marriage Restraint Bill, 2025, despite resistance from the Council of…

Wounded Childhood

PAKISTAN is unkind to its children. The NCRC’s State of Children in Pakistan Report 2024 scans the grim circumstances our young are forced to navigate, and spells out the systemic apathy towards their safety, health and progress. It asserts that the country faces tremendous difficulties in safeguarding the rights of…

Panchayat Writ

Despite improvements in education and awareness of rights, the tribal court system continues to mete out injustice across the country. The latest example of ‘elders’ proving that age does not always bring wisdom occurred in the rural Bhagwani Shumali area of Dera Ismail Khan in K-P. A local man committed…

Children’s Futures Shattered By 2022 Floods

As the climate crisis continues, children are increasingly exposed to illiteracy, child labour and early marriages LAHORE: Following the devastation caused by the heavy rains and catastrophic flooding in 2022, many people rallied to provide humanitarian aid through food, clothing and medicine for the affected families. However, no amount of…

Female Age Of Consent Still Unregulated

Despite laws against child marriages, the legislation and implementation of minimum age laws has been unsatisfactory LAHORE: In Pakistan, men are given precedence over women in nearly all matters. Male guests will be seated first at a family dinner, male students will be selected for accolades and scholarships while male…

Stolen Childhoods

Acknowledging a problem is the first step toward resolving it, and Sindh’s recognition of the alarming prevalence of child marriages and child labour is a necessary but overdue move. Figures recently revealed in the Sindh School Education and Literacy Department survey are just one of many studies conducted over the…