Child marriage: a persistent form of gender inequality

Child marriage is not a tradition we can afford to romanticise. It is a violation of childhood, consent and opportunity. Defined as any formal or informal union where one or both parties are under 18, child marriage remains one of Pakistan's most persistent forms of gender inequality. Despite legal prohibitions, girls continue to be married before they are old enough to choose, study, work, vote, or understand the consequences of a decision made for them.

Pakistan is home to one of the largest populations of child brides in the world. Around one in five girls is married before 18, and some before 15. This means millions of girls whose childhoods have been shortened by poverty, social pressure and deeply embedded gender norms. Child marriage rates have fallen from more than 40 per cent in the early 1990s to under 20 per cent in recent years. But progress is uneven, especially in rural and low-income communities.

The geography of child marriage is also the geography of exclusion. Girls in rural areas are far more likely to be married early than girls in cities. Poverty sharpens the risk: families facing hardship may see marriage as one less mouth to feed, or one way to secure a daughter's future. Lack of education compounds the problem. A girl who stays in school is far less likely to be married as a child; a girl who never completes school is far more vulnerable.

The consequences are devastating and lifelong. Child brides often become adolescent mothers, facing pregnancies their bodies and minds may not be ready for. Early pregnancy increases the risk of complications, maternal mortality and poor health outcomes for newborns. Marriage also frequently ends a girl's education. Once she drops out, her chances of earning an income, building independence and participating in public life shrink dramatically. The result is dependency and poverty carried into the next generation.

There is also a psychological cost we rarely name. A child pushed into marriage is suddenly expected to become a wife, daughter-in-law, caregiver and, often, mother. She may be isolated from friends, removed from school and placed in an unequal relationship where she has little power. What is described as protection can become confinement. What is defended as custom can become coercion.

The drivers are complex but not mysterious. They include poverty, insecurity, patriarchal ideas about honour, weak enforcement of laws and harmful customary practices such as vani, swara and watta satta. These practices may be justified in the language of culture, but no culture should be used to excuse the transfer of a child's future without her consent. In some cases, child marriage is also linked to abduction, forced conversion and forced marriage of girls from religious minorities.

Pakistan has taken important steps. Government bodies, civil society and development partners increasingly recognise that ending child marriage is central to protecting children's rights and advancing national development. The National Commission on the Status of Women, with UNICEF support, launched a National Gender Strategy for 2024-2027 that places adolescent girls' empowerment and child marriage prevention on the agenda. But strategies must now translate into visible change at the household, school, union council and district levels.

The strongest protection against child marriage is education. Expanding free, safe and quality secondary education for girls, particularly in rural and poor communities, should be a national priority. Scholarships, stipends, transport support and safe school environments can make the difference between a girl staying in class and being married off. Life skills and legal awareness can also help girls understand their rights.

Families must be part of the solution, not simply blamed. Many parents act under fear, poverty or social pressure. Community engagement with parents, elders, religious leaders and local influencers is essential to shift attitudes and show that delaying marriage protects girls' health, strengthens families and improves economic outcomes. Social protection can also reduce the financial pressures that push families towards early marriage.

Finally, laws must be enforced. Birth and marriage registration should be mandatory. Police, local administrations and courts must treat child marriage as a serious offence, not a private family matter. Child protection committees can help prevent cases before they are solemnised. Legal reform without enforcement is only paper protection.

Ending child marriage is not only about saving girls from harm. It is about allowing them to become who they could have been: students, professionals, entrepreneurs, leaders, mothers by choice and citizens with agency. Pakistan cannot build a fairer, stronger future while millions of girls are denied the chance to grow into it.