The practice of child marriage is a harsh reality of many rural areas in Pakistan
TURBAT: The practice of child marriage is a harsh reality of many rural areas in Pakistan. Not only is it adversely affecting the education of these young brides, this barbaric custom is also taking a toll on their lives.
Child marriage is a rampant practice in Pakistan.
Nevertheless, the brutality of overburdening a nine-year-old with the tiresome responsibility of her own offspring can never be justified. It deprives her of innocence and of her childhood, and threatens not one but two human lives.
According to a UN report published in 2014, one in every five South Asian girls is married before she reaches the age of 15. Such alarming statistics should be paid heed to by our government. The Government of Pakistan should devise plans to curb this inhuman practice so that scores of child brides can be saved from the clutches of this gruesome practice.
The government should take concrete measures to prevent child and under-age marriages. This is a barbaric custom. The entire Pakistani society should support the government in its effort to eliminate this inhuman practice. Media too should lend a helping hand in this regard.
Shakeel Phullan
Published in The Express Tribune, August 17th, 2018.
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