Child marriage: Speakers call for increasing marriage age
Child marriages should be prohibited and the legal age of marriage in Pakistan should be raised from 16 to 18.
Child marriages should be prohibited and the legal age of marriage in Pakistan should be raised from 16 to 18. PHOTO: FILE
ISLAMABAD:
Child marriages should be prohibited and the legal age of marriage in Pakistan should be raised from 16 to 18. This was among the demands of speakers at a seminar organised in Islamabad by Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi (ITA) in collaboration with Rutgers World Population Foundation (WPF) and Preston University.
Conducted under the Access, Service and Knowledge (ASK) programme, the seminar aimed at strengthening efforts to make Pakistan a ‘Child Marriage Free Zone’. The ASK programme is being implemented in seven countries (Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, Senegal, Indonesia, and Pakistan), and is designed to provide a holistic understanding of the factors that influence young people’s sexual and reproductive health and rights.
Rutgers WPF Technical Advisor Dr Munazza Haris discussed the effects of child marriage on reproductive health and argued that early marriage has adverse effects on children because it leaves them physically and socially vulnerable to illness, poverty and gender inequality. “It increases the risk of depression, sexually-transmitted infection, cervical cancer, malaria, obstetric fistulas, and maternal mortality,” she added.
Preston University Head of Psychology Dr Shazia Khalid gave a description of the global scenario on child marriages and highlighted the causes of the practice. She also spoke on the challenges of introducing child marriage reforms in Pakistan.
Pakistan is a signatory of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child which defines child marriage below the age of 18, but the country allows children as young as 16 to get married. It is argued that child marriage is a crime and an injustice because it leads to social isolation and robs children of educational opportunities.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 30th, 2014.
Child marriages should be prohibited and the legal age of marriage in Pakistan should be raised from 16 to 18. This was among the demands of speakers at a seminar organised in Islamabad by Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi (ITA) in collaboration with Rutgers World Population Foundation (WPF) and Preston University.
Conducted under the Access, Service and Knowledge (ASK) programme, the seminar aimed at strengthening efforts to make Pakistan a ‘Child Marriage Free Zone’. The ASK programme is being implemented in seven countries (Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, Senegal, Indonesia, and Pakistan), and is designed to provide a holistic understanding of the factors that influence young people’s sexual and reproductive health and rights.
Rutgers WPF Technical Advisor Dr Munazza Haris discussed the effects of child marriage on reproductive health and argued that early marriage has adverse effects on children because it leaves them physically and socially vulnerable to illness, poverty and gender inequality. “It increases the risk of depression, sexually-transmitted infection, cervical cancer, malaria, obstetric fistulas, and maternal mortality,” she added.
Preston University Head of Psychology Dr Shazia Khalid gave a description of the global scenario on child marriages and highlighted the causes of the practice. She also spoke on the challenges of introducing child marriage reforms in Pakistan.
Pakistan is a signatory of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child which defines child marriage below the age of 18, but the country allows children as young as 16 to get married. It is argued that child marriage is a crime and an injustice because it leads to social isolation and robs children of educational opportunities.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 30th, 2014.