Child marriages, a social evil of Pakistan.


Salman Shehzad
Despite the massive campaign of civil society in Pakistan the bill to prohibit early marriages has been withdrawn after the Council of Islamic Ideology once again declared it un-Islamic. The bill ‘to end the underage marriage’, presented by a lawmaker from the ruling party in the National Assembly have faced the same criticism by the rightists.
The Council of Islamic Ideology, a constitutional body which gives Islamic legal advice to the federal Government for legislations has declared that Pakistani laws prohibiting child marriage are against Islam in a recent series of rulings. The rulings were widely criticized.
It is estimated that 21% of girls in Pakistan are married before the age of 18.
Child marriage in Pakistan is connected with tradition, culture, religion and customary practices. It sometimes involves the transfer of money, settlement of debts or exchange of daughters (Swara or Watta Satta) sanctioned by a Jirga or Panchayat (council of elders from the community).
Social and gender inequality, a desire to control women’s sexuality and protect family integrity, economic hardship and lack of awareness of the harmful impact of child marriage are common factors for this social evil of early marriages.
Unicef report says that seven per cent of Pakistani girls are married off under the age of 15 in Pakistan. Of the cases of child marriage reported in 2012, 43 per cent of child brides were 11 to 15 years of age and 32 per cent from the age of six to 10.
Child brides are more likely to be victims of domestic violence, sexual abuse and psychological trauma. 
It has been over 66 years since Pakistan signed a declaration acknowledging that child marriage is a serious violation of human rights. Yet, statistics from as recent as 2014 indicate that one in three girls in Pakistan is married underage. 

 The report has been published on 12 Jan, in Daily Lead Pakistan, Peshawar
  

Comments

  1. Anonymous18 January 2016 at 22:42

    The only and best solution is to increase the ratio of education then could stop child marriages, child laboring, and other nonhuman activities reinforcing on children in Pakistan.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Salman Shehzad19 January 2016 at 06:36

      Yes, Dear Mohsin, That would be the only solution.

      Delete
  2. Unknown19 August 2016 at 13:22

    Great post with very useful information to all thanks for sharing with all of us. I like it very much.
    pakistani girls for marriage

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Islamabad Zoo, a death row for animals.

Image
Peshawar: The zoo has become a death valley for the animals, as two leopards and two zebras died during the last year died while after the death of two crocodiles and so many other animals now we have lost the 22 years old female elephant due to the negligence of Islamabad Zoo authorities. The elephant has been gifted by the Sir Lankan Government in 1991 when she was just one year old.        The female elephant of the zoo was found dead on early morning of Sunday in its enclosure. All the Marghzar Zoo officers reached the elephant’s enclosure and the zoos veterinary officer examined the animal and declared that the animal had expired. The female elephant was suffering from an injury in one of its legs but this may not be considered as a reason behind its death. Some of the reports suggest that the elephant was poisoned.    “Our host, our friend, our ‘...
Read more

A Pakistani high court accepts the petition against Women March termed 'Anti-Islam'

Image
By Salman Shehzad The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday accepted a petition to stop Aurat (women) March 2020, scheduled to be held on March 8, and summoned officials of Cybercrime Wing of the Federal Investigation Agency on February 27. The petition, filed by Judicial Activism Council Chairman Azhar Siddique said that "there are various anti-state parties present who are funding this Aurat March with the sole purpose of spreading anarchy amongst the masses" he termed the women march against Islam, and a hidden agenda of the western powers. "During last year's Aurat March, women were holding placards that had objectionable messages," added Siddique. He also submitted another application to enforce the Pakistan Electronic Crimes Act, 2016 and Citizen Protection (Against Online Harm) Rules, 2020 to "stop the promotion of anti-state activities such as Aurat March on social media" and another application for the promulgation of the Punjab Red Zone (...
Read more

Muslim woman describes torture and beatings in China detention camp: ‘I begged them to kill me’

News   >   World   >   Asia Muslim woman describes torture and beatings in China detention camp: ‘I begged them to kill me’ ‘Each time I was electrocuted, my whole body would shake violently and I would feel the pain in my veins,' says Mihrigul Tursun Harry Cockburn Wednesday 28 November 2018 17:39   Click to follow The Independent A  Uighur   Muslim  woman has said she was tortured and abused at an internment camp where the Chinese government is detaining hundreds of thousands of people from religious minorities. Mihrigul Tursun, 29, told reporters in Washington she was interrogated for four days in a row without sleep, had her hair shaved, was electrocuted and was subjected to an intrusive medical examination following her second arrest in  China in 2017. After she was arrested a third time, the treatment grew worse. “I thought that I would rather die than go through this...
Read more