According to a recent report,
24 per cent of girls married under the age of 18 worldwide last year
were from rural Pakistan, whereas 18 per cent were from the country’s
urban areas. The issue of child marriage raises several health concerns
for young girls, some of which include pregnancy complications, health
risks for babies born to young mothers and the risk of death. The report
said that girls pregnant under the age of 15 have a five times greater
chance of dying compared with girls pregnant in their 20s. Early
marriage can also thwart personal development and growth as a child
constantly undergoes physical, mental and emotional changes before
reaching adulthood. In Pakistan, young girls are sometimes married off
to older men, which poses the risk that the girls might become
conditioned to acting submissive towards their older male counterparts.
This can also stunt their personality development.
One obvious thing that girls married young miss out on is education. At a seminar recently held
on the issue, it was reported that girls married young have more
chances of remaining poor than those who marry later. Moreover, girls
should first be equipped with at least basic education so that they have
something to rely on should a spouse end the marriage or pass away.
While the Child Marriage Restraint Act of 1929 says that the police
cannot intervene directly in underage marriage, implying that Sharia law
is to be consulted, the government needs to intervene. Child marriage
should be prohibited and the legal age of marriage should be raised from
16 to 18. Pakistan is signatory to the UN Convention on the Rights of
the Children which defines child marriage below the age of 18; yet, the
country allows marriages at age 16. The civil society also needs to work
towards eradicating certain false assumptions in our culture, such as
that religion sanctions child marriage. This seminar is a step in the
positive direction but we hope that our lawmakers also take notice and
amend child marriage laws.
Link: http://tribune.com.pk/story/488062/child-marriage-in-pakistan/
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