Bill aiming to ban child marriages shot down

Lawmaker withdraws proposal after CII declares it un-Islamic


Maryam Usman January 14, 2016
PHOTO: AFP/ FILE

ISLAMABAD:


Another move to ban child marriages in Pakistan has fallen at the first hurdle. The bill to prohibit underage marriages has been withdrawn after the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) declared it un-Islamic.


The ruling party lawmaker, who moved the bill, withdrew her proposal on Thursday following staunch resistance from the council, which advises the legislature whether or not a certain law is Sharia-compliant.

Child marriage restraint bill : Activists lash out at govt for preparing flawed draft

The National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony rejected the Child Marriage Restraint (Amendment) Bill 2014 after the CII dubbed it ‘anti-Islamic’ and ‘blasphemous’.

The committee meeting, which was presided over by its Chairman Hafiz Abdul Karim, unanimously rejected the bill on ‘purely religious grounds’. Afterwards, PML-N’s Marvi Memon also withdrew her proposal.

The proposed legislation had recommended harsher punishments for those entering conjugal contracts with minors.

Last week, lawmakers in the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly had also blocked a bill seeking ban on child marriages over similar concerns.

Of child marriages and medieval mindsets

The CII has already ruled the minimum age stipulated for marriage in the Child Marriages Restriction Act of 1929 does not comply with Islamic laws.

In May 2014, amid severe criticism from various quarters, the council had endorsed its earlier ruling that girls as young as nine years old were eligible to be married “if the signs of puberty are visible”.

About two years ago, CII Chairman Mohammad Khan Sheerani told the National Assembly that the council had given its recommendations over the suggested law and this should not have been discussed anymore.

He made these comments after Marvi had introduced the bill seeking amendments in the marriage act. The bill was then backed by MNAs Asiya Naz Tanoli, Muhammad Pervaiz Malik and Shaista Pervaiz.

Sheerani had opposed the proposed amendments, saying they were contrary to Islamic teachings and laws.

Opposition to anti-child marriage bill

“Parliament cannot create legislation that is against the teachings of the Holy Quran or Sunnah,” he had said while backing his arguments with relevant laws and a few references from the Holy Quran and Hadith.

According to Islamic laws, marriage can be solemnised when a girl attains puberty, Sheerani claimed. Under the Constitution, the CII chairman is the final authority in the council with the choice to overrule the voice of all members. While the CII’s decisions are not binding on parliament, they are treated as the guiding principles to frame laws.


Published in The Express Tribune, January 15th, 2016.

COMMENTS (58)

John | 8 years ago | Reply @karl: Of course the members of the council would allow their very own 9-year-old daughters to be married off. They are all old, sick men. They would, of course, wish to have the gift reciprocated by the purchaser of their children. They probably would also wish to ensure, by voyeurism and participation, that their child is treated correctly according to their Stone Age rules. In short, they are themselves paedophiles.
E.A. Blair | 8 years ago | Reply Even in the United States, it is possible in most states to legally marry someone who is below the age of consent (in all cases, this means a minor). In almost all of these cases, the permission of the minor’s parents (and, sometimes, the additional permission of a judge) is required*. The lowest legally defined marriageable age in a US state is 12, and six states have no legally defined minimum marriageable age. *In Texas, a girl as young as fourteen can legally marry without her parents’ consent, provided she was previously married and is either divorced or widowed.
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