The meeting was also attended by representatives of CSOs, Child Protection and Welfare Commission, media, legislators and women rights commission with the objectives of awareness rising among the masses and to influence the policy for legislation. Speaking in the consultative meeting, MPA, Manawar Sultana said that child marriages in Pakistan are a common occurrence in both the urban and rural areas, which unjustified and unlawful.
She said there is an urgent need to amend the Child Marriages Restraint Act, 1929. Deputy Speaker Provincial Assembly Khushdal Kan said that, while in Pakistan, the applicable law that deals with the subject of child marriages was passed in 1929 titled Child Marriages Restraint Act. It dictated that marriage of minors was a criminal offence.
Sitara Ayaz, Minister for Social Welfare and Women Empowerment said that early marriage is a social issue and we are committed for legislation with consensus with other stakeholders particularly the religious leaders. She said that the amendment bill be expedited, which calls for raising the age of the girl to 18 (a child, according to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, is any person under the age of 18) same as that of the boy.
Substantive increase in the penalty to that of at least Rs 100,000 and immediate enforcement of the same must also be ensured. Poverty, illiteracy, social and cultural practices are factors cited for the prevalence of child marriages, she further said.
Gynecologist Dr Iqbal Begum said that, an early marriage leads to early conception, which ultimately affects the health of the teenage girl. Typically, enormous pressure to bear children is put on the child brides. "In developing countries, the leading cause of death of young girls between the ages of 15 and 18 is early pregnancy", she mentioned.