NCRC is strongly advocating to raise the minimum marriageable age for girls to 18 years!
The Commission has taken proactive steps by writing to provincial human rights and law departments in Punjab, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and ICT urging them to support this amendment and promptly present before the legislative assembly so that it can be passed and incorporated into the relevant law.
Child marriage is a violation of children’s rights, robbing them of their childhood and exposing them to numerous risks. By aligning the age of marriage for girls with boys, we aim to protect them from early marriage and its detrimental effects on education, health, and well-being.
This proposed amendment not only adheres to international standards, including the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, but also promotes gender equality and upholds the principles of the Constitution of Pakistan.
The Lahore High Court judgement declaring differing marriageable ages for girls and boys in the Child Marriage Restraint Act as discriminatory and against the spirit of the Articles 25 & 35 of the Constitution of Pakistan which guarantees equal protection and prohibits discrimination.
