Child marriage law

Child marriage in Pakistan has never been sustained by law alone. Instead, it has survived because the law itself has remained fractured. The passage of the Child Marriage Restraint Bill 2026 by the Punjab Assembly is therefore significant for what it exposes across the federation, which is a deeply uneven legal regime.

Punjab's decision to raise the minimum age to 18 for both boys and girls and criminalise violations with stronger penalties brings it closer to a rights-based framework. Yet the larger picture remains inconsistent. Sindh has, since 2014, maintained the most progressive position, setting 18 as the minimum age for both genders and criminalising child marriage with enforceable penalties. That law has survived legal scrutiny, including review by the Federal Shariat Court, strengthening its legitimacy. More recently, Balochistan has also moved in the same direction. Its 2025 legislation raised the legal age to 18 and introduced penalties for facilitators, signalling a shift in a province where enforcement challenges remain significant but intent is now clearer. The real outlier is Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Despite repeated attempts, legislation to raise the age has stalled. As a result, the province still largely operates under the colonial-era Child Marriage Restraint Act of 1929, where the minimum age for girls remains 16. The same outdated threshold continues to apply in several other jurisdictions, including Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir. This patchwork creates a legal absurdity. A girl deemed a child in Karachi or Quetta can still be legally married in parts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

Punjab's move, then, is move in the right direction. Laws alone will not end child marriage, but inconsistent laws ensure it persists. A national consensus - whether through parliamentary legislation or judicial direction - must establish 18 as a non-negotiable minimum age across Pakistan.