Despite law, child marriage continues unabated in Sindh

Poor implementation of Child Marriage Restraint Act seen in the province

KARACHI: Three years have passed since the Sindh Child Marriage Restraint Act, 2014 was passed but the Sindh government has yet to properly implement it.

Monitoring committees have not yet been formed at district levels nor have any awareness campaigns been started to mobilise the community, police and especially the nikah registrars who solemnise marriages.

“A 17-year-old girl tied the knot with a 27-year-old man. The nikah registrar gave the family a marriage certificate too but the girl’s national identity card number on the nikah nama [marriage certificate] was missing because she is a minor,” revealed a family member of the girl who lives in Shikarpur.



This is not an isolated case, as numerous child marriages go unreported in various districts of Sindh under the nose of the concerned authorities who are supposed to take action under this law. “Early child marriage, that is marriage below the age of 18 years, is a cognisable offense. Whoever performs or facilitates any child marriage will be punished with rigorous imprisonment, which is not less than three years,” states the law, adding that the same punishment will be awarded to the nikah registrar.

Child rights activist Iqbal Detho told The Express Tribune that awareness about this law at a local police level is an essential component of its implementation but no one has yet taken any initiative to spread any awareness about it. “The head muharars who mostly register the FIRs and investigation officers who investigate the incidents must be made aware of this law,” he said, referring to the rules of the law. Detho added that Mirpurkhas division dominates statistics of child marriage cases and is followed by Sukkur, Hyderabad and Larkana divisions.

“The nikah registrar has to ensure that the bride and groom are at least 18 years of age or older. Copies of the couple’s national identity cards must be attested by the registrar under Section 5 of the Muslim Family Law Ordinance, 1961 but this never happens,” he lamented.



The practice of child marriage is not limited to Muslims, as cases have also emerged of members of the Hindu community marrying their underage children off. It is especially common among scheduled castes, such as the Bheels, Menghwars and Kolis.  Sajjad Bajeer, a local journalist, referred to two recent wedding ceremonies in Mithi tehsil of Tharparkar and said, “Some time ago, a Hindu girl of 12 years of age was married to a man who was around 30-years-old”.

He said a similar case was reported in a Muslim household in Chachhro area. “No one has taken the law seriously. The police and local administration are aware of this custom but it still continues,” he said.

The Strengthening Participatory Organisation (SPO), a civil society organisation fighting for the rights of citizens has begun lobbying for the implementation of the law. Raheema Panhwar, a programme specialist who deals with such cases, said that it is primarily the role of the government to educate people about this law.



“The district level committees under the supervision of the deputy commissioner with district officers of the women development, education and social welfare departments along with two representatives from civil society organisations and one member each from the media and minorities as members are supposed to start awareness campaigns but all have not,” she said, adding that the organisation has started campaigning in various districts, engaging other civil society activists to highlight the gaps in this law.

Saleem Abbasi, a civil society activist, said that change is not possible until and unless feudal landlords, especially those who are politicians, take the lead against this heinous practice.

“They should include this in their party manifestos,” he said, adding that earlier the police did not have the power to take action against this menace but now the law has given the authority to the concerned SHO to lodge an FIR but since the police is politicised, implementation of this extraordinary law has not seen light of the day.  “This law fights these taboos and customs but there is dire need for its implementation,” he said.



Special Assistant to the Sindh Chief Minister on Human Rights Rehana Leghari said the government has taken action by registering cases against perpetrators. “More than 50 FIRs have been lodged so far,” she said, adding that the Sindh Human Rights Commission, led by Justice (Retd) Majida Rizvi, has also recently taken action in two cases of child marriage. “We are fighting against a centuries-old custom and it will take time to overcome these issues,” she said.