ActionAid Pakistan, Plan International and Ideas for Life Trust launched a 16-day campaign at National College of Arts (Islamabad) to address the harmful practice of girl-child marriages.
The event focused on sensitising the youth about the issue through painting, poetry and music exercises. Specially designed bookmarks, pocket calendars, and doll key chains were also distributed among the youth. The organisers used a doll as a mascot to symbolise childhood. Students creatively portrayed the issue as a negative customary practice through creative art work.
Pakistan ActionAid Women’s Rights Coordinator Zohra Bano said that girl-child marriages lead to early childbearing before the girls’ bodies were fully developed. It could also lead to psychological trauma, increased risk for sexually-transmitted diseases, complications from childbirth and even death for young mothers, she said, adding that the challenge was global in scale and severe in impact, but also solvable.
