Child marriage, labour linked to poverty: report

Minister calls for legislation on increasing age of marriage for girls

LAHORE:

Punjab Minister for Population Welfare Col (retd) Hashim Dogar has termed population growth the greatest issue currently being faced in Pakistan.

He expressed these views while addressing the launching ceremony of the “Political Economy Analysis of Child Marriage” report in Punjab.

He pointed out that Pakistan has moved from 6th to 5th most populous country and this is alarming.

The minister said that multi-stakeholder efforts led by the Local Government and Community Development Department must be steered and moved in the Punjab Assembly, so that the age of marriage for girls is increased. In addition, there is a need to address social dimension of child labour as there is a link between poverty, larger family size and propensity to engage children in labour at a young age.

Dogar said girls who complete secondary education were 17% less likely to marry between the ages of 13 and 17 than those who have not attended school in Punjab. This is one of the key findings of the analysis. He said pivotal mindset shift was required to curb child marriages; they must be considered a health hazard and families must be made aware of the negative health consequences of marrying girls earlier than 18 years.

He highlighted that it was quite unfortunate that child marriage was taken as a good parenting practice instead of an issue in the society.

Population Welfare Department Secretary Ali Bahadur Qazi lauded the attendance of ministers, dignitaries and panellists.

The report on child marriage has been launched by the Population Welfare Department Punjab in collaboration with Women Development Department Punjab and United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), supported by UK Aid.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 1^st, 2020.