KARACHI:
Child marriage alludes to any formal marriage or informal union between child under the age of 18 and an adult or another child. Child marriage is often the result of entrenched gender inequality, making girls disproportionately affected by the practice. Child marriage is also the result of the interplay of economic and social forces. Poverty, insecurity, social norms, low value accorded to girls, lack of access to education and patriarchal systems are some of the main causes of child marriage. Child marriage violates children’s rights and places them at high risk of violence, exploitation and abuse.
Pakistan has the largest number of child brides in the world — one-third of the global total. Child marriage also negatively affects the Pakistani economy and leads to an inter-generational cycle of poverty. Girls and boys married as children more likely lack the skills, knowledge and job prospects needed to lift their families out of poverty and contribute to their country’s social and economic growth. Child brides are more likely to become pregnant before they physically mature to bear children, increasing risks of both maternal and newborn deaths and morbidity. Children who are married off are also vulnerable to sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV. Early pregnancy is one of the most dangerous consequences of this harmful practice.
Across the world, girls as young as 12 are being forced or tricked into marrying men who exploit them for sex and child domestic labour, which can also be considered as an under-reported, global form of human trafficking. Child marriage is dramatically soaring each passing day. Child marriage is replete with multitudes of nocuous aftermaths for children as well as society. The child is a vitally key asset for society, but child marriage badly maims their roles and renders them unproductive and ineffective for society.
Wajid Ali Bhutto
Ranipur City
Published in The Express Tribune, September 16th, 2022.
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