Lahore: In Pakistan, men take precedence for women in almost all cases. Male guests are first sitting at a family dinner, male students are chosen for acknowledgments and scholarships, while male applicants are conventionally prioritized by recruiters. However, there is a case in which society has ironically sanctioned women to take precedence; The age in which their childhood can be sacrificed in the name of culture.

According to Punjab Marriage Restain (amendment), 2015, the minimum age of marriage for boys is set at 18, while girls could get married at the age of 16. In April 2024, Lahore High Court stated that the minimum age of marriage for both boys and girls should be 18 years. Following this decision, the Punjab government prepared a law on the issue of child marriage to raise the age of the consent of girls to 18 years, but the legislation must still be completed.

Nabila Shaheen, provincial coordinator at the Aurat Foundation, claimed that although family customs were the primary cause of early marriages, they also include a religious element to some extent. “However, religious resistance should not be an obstacle to this legislation, as the minimum age of marriage with girls has also been determined to 18 in Sindh. Therefore, I believe that the political parties themselves are responsible for not adopting this legislation, ”Shaheen claimed.

“Various socio-legal and religious difficulties get in the way of raising the minimum age of consent to a girl from 16 years to 18 years in Punjab. Poverty and illiteracy in rural areas promote children’s marriage as families try to reduce their financial burden by marrying their daughters. At the state level, pressure from the religious groups and some feudal lawmakers may have prevented the government from tackling this issue, ”Opined Nida Usman, a lawyer and founder of the Women in Law initiative.

On the other hand, Hina’s Pervaiz Butt, President of Women Protection Authority Punjab, claimed that the Punjab government was to raise the minimum age of marriage to 18 years for girls, but the case was under a dispute on the Council of Islamic Ideology. “I personally think that even 18 years of age is too young to get married for a girl, but if consensus is at this age, it must be implemented,” but children said marriages.

According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Pakistan, girls who marry early are at a higher risk of domestic violence and health problems, including high risk pregnancies, fistulas, sexually transmitted infections and birth complications. According to health experts due to early marriages, several health complications arise during childbirth as the female child’s body is underdeveloped and cannot bear the burden at birth. This contributes significantly to high mothers and child mortality.

The UN reports claim that 50 percent of women in Pakistan are married at the age of 19, while 13 percent are married at the age of 15. As a result, 9 percent of girls aged 15 to 19 have become mothers. While it may appear that marriages of children would be less widespread in Sindh, where the minimum age of marriage is set for 18 for both boys are girls, minor girls are still getting married before their legal age.

Recently, “Klimarias” has emerged as a significant challenge in which 45 minor girls were married in a single village of Dadu during the monsoon rain last year. According to data provided by the Inspector General Police Sindh to the Sindh Home Department, 57 cases of child marriage were registered in eight districts in SINDH between 2018 and 2023, with the highest number of cases, 21, reported from DADU.

The situation is much worse in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, where until date no effective legislation could be devised to protect underage girls from marriages with children. According to local reports, practice continues to plague minor girls in the province, where a total of 153 cases of child marriage were reported between May 2011 and December 2023 across 12 districts, while countless others remain unknown.

Express Pakinomist tried to reach out to Dr. Raghib Naeemi, President of the Council of Islamic Ideology, but he chose not to answer. On the other hand, Qibla Ayaz, former chairman of the Council, admitted that children’s marriages in the current context were problematic.

“Public consciousness should be increased over marriages with children, so that parents themselves avoid marrying their girls at a young age. Although I consider the current age appropriate, it is legal that it is not correct for everyone to apply this condition. Instead of changing the law, it is necessary to take steps to challenge the culture, ”Ayaz Opined.