NGOs call for support to Child Marriage Bill in KP Assembly

There is increasing recognition that child marriage is a serious problem that violates girls’ human rights and hinders key development outcomes. The latest international estimates indicate that more than 60 million women aged 20-24 worldwide were married before they turned 18.
Recently, member of provincial assembly (MPA) Menawar Farman moved a private member’s bill in this regard in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Assembly. In this connection, the Action Aid Pakistan, with the support of Blue Veins and CRSD called a joint meeting with a group of women legislators from KP to know what support the mover of the bill and legislators need from civil society organisations. Speaking on this occasion, Farman said, “Child marriage, which steals the innocence of millions of girls worldwide and often condemns them to lives of poverty, ignorance and poor health, is one of the biggest obstacles to development in this province and all over Pakistan.
In Pakistan, traditionally most marriages are arranged by families and the right of a person to openly like and choose their partner is not exercised as often. In the process of such marriages being arranged by family members, safeguards in the law are often overlooked and the minimum age of marriage and need for mutual consent are not guaranteed, making the marriage a forced one.
Expressing her views on the issue, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) MPA Shazia Tehmas said that in 1990, Pakistan ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Child, which prohibits child marriages. In addition, under the Muslim Family Law Ordinance, a girl must have attained the age of 16 and a boy, the age of 18, and both need to consent before the marriage can take place. “Islam too forbids discrimination against females. Studies and research have shown that Islam is the most women-friendly religion and that it safeguards the rights and status of women. A girl enjoys equal rights as the boy, including the right to health, survival, nutrition and education, among others. For example, the harmful practice of female infanticide is strictly forbidden in Islam, which prohibits infanticide, irrespective of whether the infant is male or female,” she added.
Action Aid representative Aliya said that historically there have been no measures taken by the state to ensure that marriages are consensual and in many instances the age of a girl will be changed on her marriage certificate in order to avoid questions over her being underage.
Blue Veins official Qamar Naseem and CRSD representative Idrees Kamal also welcomed the recently tabled Child Marriage Bill in KP Assembly, and said that numerous underage girls become victims of neglect, which is mostly the result of discrimination against them in favour of their male siblings.
Kamal said that right from the start of their lives, girls are treated as the weaker sex. “Due to society’s mindset, they are forced to live a life of submission, capitulation and acquiescence. Living in a male dominated society, a female seldom gets a chance to benefit from all the rights to which she is entitled and frequently suffers poor health and social under development, as well as low self esteem. As soon as she reaches puberty, the girl child is draped in parental fears about her security, chastity, imminent marriage and the accompanying expenses of dowry. The worst victim of society’s discriminatory attitude is the adolescent girl. She is considered a risk to the honour of the family, as this is a society in which female chastity has a very high social value,” he added. The participants of the meeting stressed the need to get support from the civil society in favour of the bill and engage them in the meaningful dialogue.