Wedding woes: Minor contests fixed marriage in court

The 14-year-old says her father is marrying her off to their landlord.


Our Correspondent February 05, 2013
Shahista said her Nikah with Irfan was scheduled for February 3, but she escaped and took shelter at Hashatnagri Police Station. PHOTO: FILE

PESHAWAR:


Fourteen-year-old Shahista* has approached the Peshawar High Court (PHC) to challenge her parents’ decision of getting her married against her will.


A resident of Pir Gulab Shah in Hashatnagri area, Shahista recorded her statement before the PHC Human Rights Directorate (HRD) saying her father Gul Ahmed has decided to give her hand in marriage to their landlord Dr Irfan who is 40 years old.



She said her Nikah with Irfan was scheduled for February 3, but she escaped and took shelter at Hashatnagri Police Station. She added that Irfan is already married and has children from his first wife.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Shahista said she first approached the police who advised her to take the matter to court. She then called her brother-in-law Bakhtyar who took her to his place and later brought her to the PHC to record her statement before the HRD.



A bill to curtail child marriages in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) was recently rejected by most lawmakers in the provincial assembly. The bill was moved by MPA Munawar Sultana of the Awami National Party on private members day on January 11.

The bill aimed to increase the legal age of marriage for a girl from 16 to 18 and increase punishment for violators under the Child Marriage Restraint Act.

(*Name has been changed to protect identity)

Published in The Express Tribune, February 5th, 2013.

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