Protecting women

Sindh's proposed Premarital and Marital Counselling Bill may well become one of the most meaningful social interventions of recent years — if implemented with seriousness and sensitivity. For far too long, families in Pakistan have entered marriage and parenthood armed with cultural expectations but deprived of basic knowledge about reproductive health and responsible family planning.

By making counselling mandatory before marriage registration, Sindh's health and local government ministries have signalled a long-overdue shift from crisis response to prevention. As Dr Azra Pechuho rightly emphasised at the bill's unveiling, birth spacing of two to three years is an economic lifeline for countless young couples already struggling under rising inflation.

A simple conversation before marriage may spare many women from high-risk pregnancies and allow families to plan responsibly rather than react under pressure. The case for structured counselling becomes even stronger when one considers that many women resort to unsafe abortions due to nothing more than misinformation. A system that provides guidance on maternal health can change outcomes dramatically. The inclusion of mental health and partner communication is equally critical. Likewise, the minister's clarification that a child's gender is determined by the father's chromosome — not the mother — strikes at the root of a damaging myth that has burdened women for generations.

Pilot programmes in the south of Karachi indicate that Sindh is testing systems on the ground. But legislation alone will not suffice. For this reform to truly take root, the government must ensure that counsellors are properly trained and sessions are accessible across rural and urban areas. Critics may argue that the state has no place in people's personal lives. But when preventable deaths and unsafe medical practices continue to affect millions — especially women — the state not only has a role but an obligation.