Child marriage

ISLAMABAD: This is with reference to “Legislating against child marriage” by Syed Mohammad Ali (July 23). Recently, the governor of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa promulgated the Child Protection and Welfare Ordinance 2010 which seeks to provide children protection against child marriage and discriminatory customary practices in accordance with federal laws. An applicable law on the subject, still on our statute books despite it being from the days of the British, is the Child Marriages Restraint Act of 1929. It dictates that marriage between minors is a criminal offence. For the purposes of the Act, ‘minor’ has been defined as a person below the age of 18 years.

Poverty, illiteracy and cultural practices are factors cited for the prevalence of child marriage. An early marriage leads to early conception, which ultimately affects the health of the girl. Typically, enormous pressure to bear children is put on child brides. In developing countries the leading cause of death for young girls between the ages of 15 and 18 is early pregnancy. The present law is weak in nature and difference in the age of the male and female child in the Act is discriminatory and appears to be in contravention of Article 25 of the constitution.

The situation can be improved by educating people regarding the harms of early marriages. And the law prohibiting child marriage should be stricter with effective mechanisms to check the menace.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 24^th, 2010.