Recognising child marriage

Legal inconsistencies are wrought in the country's legal framework, as minimum legal age for marriage is not uniform

A sessions court in Karachi last week found an adult, who had married a minor, guilty under the Sindh Child Marriage Restraint Act 2013, sentencing him to two years in prison alongside a Rs25,000 fine. The court, however, declared that convictions under the Act do not nullify the validity of a nikkah involving a minor. In Sindh, the minimum legal age for marriage for both males and females is 18. This means that while an adult can be prosecuted for marrying a minor, the marriage itself remains valid.

This legal inconsistency has previously been questioned by the Islamabad High Court, which found it nonsensical to recognise a child marriage as a valid contract. It argued that since the marriage with an underage child constitutes an illegal criminal offence — statutory rape under the Pakistan Penal Code — the contract should be void. Consequently, the Islamabad Capital Territory Child Marriage Restraint Bill 2025 prohibits cohabitation resulting from a child marriage.

While a criminal court only extends its jurisdiction to criminal offences, and the right to recognise or nullify a marriage rests with family courts, this ruling fails to recognise legal inconsistencies between criminalisation and continued legal recognition. Criminal punishment then risks becoming symbolic, avoiding a conclusive legal position on whether the state supports marriage under 18. Nor does the ruling meaningfully guide family courts on assessing a nikah's validity following a conviction.

Legal inconsistencies are wrought in the country's legal framework, as the minimum legal age for marriage is not uniform across different provinces. Balochistan and K-P recognise 18 as the minimum age for males and 16 for females, while the rest of the country recognises 18 for both sexes. Legal rulings surrounding child marriage are desperately in need of clarity that ultimately protects the well-being of children and reduces harm to minors.