Punjab Government Urged To Raise Minimum Age For Girls’ Marriage

1 min read

ISLAMABAD: Participants of an awareness session on 1st January urged the Punjab government to raise the minimum age of marriage for girls from 16 to 18 years in the province to ensure a safe future for them.

They were attending an event organised by the Potohar Organisation for Development Advocacy (Poda) in collaboration with the Norwegian embassy in Islamabad.

Titled ‘Reduce Early Marriages to Enhance Gender Equality’, the moot unanimously agreed to advocate for an amendment to the Child Marriage Restraint Act 2015.

The resolution aimed to safeguard adolescent girls’ fundamental rights, including access to education, reproductive health services and employment opportunities.

The session drew diverse participants, including academicians, members of bar associations, health professionals, rights activists and government officials.

Speaking at the event, legal expert Advocate Khawaja Zahid Nasim presented an overview of the prevailing laws concerning child marriages.

He referred to the Lahore High Court’s verdict on the definition of ‘child’ in Section 2 (a) of the Child Marriage Restraint Act 1929 and termed it unconstitutional.

He said the Sindh Child Marriage Restraint Act sets the minimum age for girls and boys at 18 years.

The legal expert also said that around 40 other Muslim countries have set the minimum marriage age for girls at 18 years to combat child marriages. Project Manager at Poda Nabeela Aslam emphasised that child marriages constituted a gross violation of human and child rights.

By depriving children of their childhood, education and economic empowerment opportunities, child marriages exacerbate the severe marginalisation of already vulnerable children, she said.

She pointed out that underage marriages disproportionately affect vulnerable girls, who were often malnourished, illiterate and powerless to advocate for their rights.

Advocate Bano Jahangir emphasised the importance of timely nikah registration, highlighting it as a common issue. She briefed that typically when parents marry off their underage daughters, they do not get their nikah registered.

“When children are born from such unions, complications arise in legitimising the marriage,” she added. Dr Mariam Nawaz, a doctor at a government hospital, shed light on the alarming health consequences of child marriages.

Published in Dawn, January 2nd, 2025

Previous Story

January To Be Marked As Speak Truth Month In Schools

Next Story

Moot Urges Joint Efforts For Implementation Of Law On Breastfeeding

Latest from Blog

Khuzdar Bus Blast Toll Rises To 6

QUETTA: The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) of Balochistan Police registered a case against unknown terrorists in connection with the Khuzdar IED attack on the Army Public School Bus in Khuzdar on the complaint of police on 22-May-2025. The case was registered under murder attempt, murder and Anti-Terrorism act. Sources said…

Health Of School Children At Stake

Rawalpindi: The mercury level has been registering record high for days in many parts of the country including this region of the country putting health of general public at risk but the schoolchildren are at the greatest risk of suffering from heat related disorders including heatstroke, heat syncope, heat exhaustion,…

Two Polio Cases Detected, Taking Year’s Tally To 10

ISLAMABAD: Two cases of polio from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were confirmed on 21st May, taking the tally for the current year to 10. The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health, Islamabad, confirmed the cases of wild poliovirus in Lakki Marwat and Bannu districts. According to…

Anti-rape Crisis Cells To Be Set Up At DHQ Hospitals In KP

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa health department has planned the establishment of anti-rape crisis cells at all district headquarters hospitals in the province to ensure medical and legal assistance to victims of sexual assaults in line with the Anti-Rape (Investigation and Trial) Act, 2021. It has directed all 26 district headquarters…

PM Vows Strong Action Against Perpetrators After School Bus Blast

QUETTA/KHUZDAR: At least six people, including three students, lost their lives and over 40 others — mostly students — sustained injuries after a bomb targeted a school bus in Khuzdar on 21st May, prompting the prime minister to visit Quetta to take stock of the security situation amid across-the-board condemnations.…
Go toTop