Child Marriage In Pakistan
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Child marriage Child marriage is a practice involving a marriage or domestic partnership, formal or informal, that includes an individual under 18 and an adult or other child.* * * * Research has found that child marriages have many long-term negative co ...
(marriage of minors under the age of 18) is banned by law and is criminalized under the Pakistan Penal Code. But, it is practiced in some parts of the country, with the highest prevalence in the
Sindh Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...
province. It disproportionately affects the female children.Goonesekere, Savitri, Children, Law and Justice: A south Asian Perspective, p. 20. According to
UNICEF UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Development a ...
report from 2018, around 18% of women aged 20-24 years were found to be married before the age of 18 (almost 20.5 million). For children married before the age of 15, the number drops to 4% or 5 million. Child marriage occurs most often in rural areas, and the primary driving factor is poverty among the low-income households where
education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...
is minimal. Pakistan has the lowest prevalence of child marriages in South Asia after Sri Lanka, and has almost halved since 1993.


Causes

Early and
child marriage Child marriage is a practice involving a marriage or domestic partnership, formal or informal, that includes an individual under 18 and an adult or other child.* * * * Research has found that child marriages have many long-term negative co ...
are directly attributable to deep-rooted
gender inequalities Gender inequality is the social phenomenon in which people are not treated equally on the basis of gender. This inequality can be caused by gender discrimination or sexism. The treatment may arise from distinctions regarding biology, psychology ...
,
traditional A tradition is a system of beliefs or behaviors (folk custom) passed down within a group of people or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examp ...
practices, and
customs Customs is an authority or Government agency, agency in a country responsible for collecting tariffs and for controlling International trade, the flow of goods, including animals, transports, personal effects, and hazardous items, into and out ...
. Dependency on elders and lack of occupational aspirations further hampers the efforts of limiting child marriages. The close relationship between female
chastity Chastity, also known as purity, is a virtue related to temperance. Someone who is ''chaste'' refrains from sexual activity that is considered immoral or from any sexual activity, according to their state of life. In some contexts, for exampl ...
and family honour forces family members to marry girls at an early age to prevent sexual transgressions and consequent damage to family reputation. The conceptualization of the girl child as 'other's property' who has to eventually move to her husband's home prevents parents from investing in their daughter's education and daughters thus are married off at an early age to relieve parents of their 'burden'.Child rights in Pakistan by Anees Jillani and Zarina Jillani, p. 38. The problem of child marriage is at times justified on the basis of religious foundations. Historically, it can be explained as a reaction to invasions by foreigners; desire to perpetuate the
cult Cults are social groups which have unusual, and often extreme, religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals. Extreme devotion to a particular person, object, or goal is another characteristic often ascribed to cults. The term ...
of the family by marrying the son early; by marrying the daughter early to escape the discredit caused to the family by the presence of grown-up maiden; or by desire of the mother to marry her son early so that she may sooner obtain the possession of a daughter-in-law in whom the mother could inculcate her habits of obedience and who could share the domestic chores with the mother. In the case of parents, sometimes it is due to their keenness to relieve themselves of the responsibility of marrying their daughter. They are also considered socially acceptable for reasons of responsibility and economically desirable for saving marriage expenses, bride price/
dowry A dowry is a payment such as land, property, money, livestock, or a commercial asset that is paid by the bride's (woman's) family to the groom (man) or his family at the time of marriage. Dowry contrasts with the related concepts of bride price ...
. Williams, L.F, Rushbrook, ''India in 1919; A report Prepared for Presentation to Parliament in accordance with the requirements of section 26 of the Government of India Act'' Calcutta, 1920, p. 125. In certain situations, it is known as dand or bada in
Sindh Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...
, vani in
Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...
, and swara in
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ; , ; abbr. KP or KPK), formerly known as the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Northern Pakistan, northwestern region of the country, Khyber ...
and the tribal areas. In this practice, an accused family gives its girl or girls in marriage to an aggrieved family to settle a blood feud between the two parties. At times, women and girl children are deprived of their property rights by symbolically marrying them to the Quran. This ensures that the girl child will not bear children in the future and will not demand her rightful share in the family property. Sometimes poor parents who cannot afford to marry their daughters rely on this symbolic arrangement. Exchange marriage or
Watta Satta Watta satta or Shighar (, ) is an exchange marriage common in Pakistan and Afghanistan.Watta ...
is also practiced in many parts of Pakistan. In a watta satta arrangement, both families trade brides. Both families must have a daughter and a son and must be willing to betroth them to the daughter and son of the other family. Watta satta marriages put females in a precarious position as a divorce between one of the couples may trigger a divorce between the other couple because of strong sibling ties. Such marriages are a crime if child marriages are involved in the arrangement. Another custom in Pakistan, called ''
swara Swara () or svara is an Indian classical music term that connotes simultaneously a breath, a vowel, a note, the sound of a musical note corresponding to its name, and the successive steps of the octave, or ''saptanka''. More comprehensively ...
'' or ''vani'', involves village elders solving family disputes or settling unpaid debts by marrying off girls. The average marriage age of ''swara'' girls is between 5 and 9.


Consequences

Over the years, there has been a decline in the occurrence of child marriages. The trend of child marriages has been a major cause of girls' illiteracy or lower level of education. It can also damage the girls physical, mental and social health leading to serious health issues in the future.
Prenatal Prenatal development () involves the embryonic development, development of the embryo and of the fetus during a viviparity, viviparous animal's gestation. Prenatal development starts with fertilization, in the germinal stage of embryonic develop ...
,
neonatal In common terminology, a baby is the very young offspring of adult human beings, while infant (from the Latin word ''infans'', meaning 'baby' or 'child') is a formal or specialised synonym. The terms may also be used to refer to Juvenile (orga ...
, and
maternal health Maternal health is the health of people during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period. In most cases, maternal health encompasses the health care dimensions of family planning, Pre-conception counseling, preconception, Prenatal care, pr ...
problems are also tied to women married before the age of 18. It is also evident that child marriages are widely prevalent alongside
child labour Child labour is the exploitation of children through any form of work that interferes with their ability to attend regular school, or is mentally, physically, socially and morally harmful. Such exploitation is prohibited by legislation w ...
, especially in rural areas. The possibility of mismatches of marriages is high. Infants born to the child mothers are many times feeble. The marital lives remain unhappy, and "child-wives" lack happiness due to their inability to support their lot. Often, the young wives become vulnerable to
sexually transmitted diseases A sexually transmitted infection (STI), also referred to as a sexually transmitted disease (STD) and the older term venereal disease (VD), is an infection that is spread by sexual activity, especially vaginal intercourse, anal sex, oral ...
.


Laws against child marriage


The Child Marriage Restraint Act 1929

Child marriage in Pakistan is legally prohibited under the Child Marriage Restraint Act 1929 (No XIX). Under the Act, the minimum age for marriage was 18 years for a male and 16 years for a female (section 2). However, under a new bill passed in Pakistani Senate, the minimum age of marriage for female was increased to 18. Contravention is punishable with a fine of Rs.1000 and an imprisonment of one month or both for * An adult male (above 18 years of age) who contracts marriage with a child (section 4). * A person who solemnizes a child marriage (section 5).The Child Marriage Restraint Act 1929. * A parent or guardian who does not act to prevent a child marriage (section 6). The 1929 Act is one of those few laws on the statute books that were introduced by the founder of Pakistan, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, while he was a member of the British India Legislative Assembly. It was passed on October 1, 1929, to restrain the solemnization of child marriages and applied to the whole of India effective April 1, 1930. It still remains in force, and extends to the whole of Pakistan. It applies to, both Muslim and Non-Muslim, citizens of Pakistan, and regardless of whether they are resident in Pakistan or elsewhere. Prior to the 1929 Act, the Age of Consent Act in 1891 was enacted which laid down the age below which a marriage should not be consummated. Child marriages however continued unabated. It was in order to control this menace that the 1929 Act was enacted. The purpose of the Act, as its title signifies, is to restrain the solemnization of child marriages. Child was originally defined in the Act to mean a "person who, if a male, is under 14 years of age, and if a female, is under 12 years of age." The age was subsequently raised. The Muslim Family Laws Ordinance 1961 (No VIII) effective July 15, 1961, raised the age of girl child in the Act from 14 to 16 years of age; and lowered the age of male from 21 to 18 years to the extent of the Muslim citizens; this means that the age for the non-Muslim citizens remains the same as prior to the 1961 Amendment.The Child Marriage Restraint Act 1929 as amended in 1961. The Act, after being amended by the 1961 Ordinance, states that, whoever being a male above 18 years of age, contracts a marriage with a girl child of less than 16 years, shall be punishable with simple imprisonment extending up to one month, or with fine extending up to Rs 1000, or with both. Additionally whoever performs, conducts or directs any child marriage, defined as marriage to which either of the contracting parties is a child, is punishable with simple imprisonment extending up to one month, or fine extending up to Rs 1000, or with both, unless he proves that he had reason to believe that the marriage was not a child marriage. Similarly, any person having charge of the minor contracting a child marriage, whether as parent or guardian or in any other capacity, lawful or unlawful, *who does any act to promote the marriage; or *permits it to be solemnized; or *negligently fails to prevent it from being solemnized; is punishable with simple imprisonment extending up to one month, or with, fine extending up to Rs 1000, or with both, provided that no woman is punishable with imprisonment. For purposes of this section of the Act, it will be presumed under law, unless and until the contrary is proved, that where a minor has contracted a child marriage, the person having charge of such minor has negligently failed to prevent the marriage from being solemnized. No court other than Magistrate of the first class can take cognizance of, or try, any offense under the Act. However even he cannot take cognizance after the expiry of one year from the date on which the offense is alleged to have been committed; and unless, except in Punjab, a complaint is made by the union council within whose jurisdiction a child marriage is or is about to be solemnized, or if there is no union council in the area by such authority as the provincial government may in this behalf prescribe. In cases where the court is satisfied from information laid before it through a complaint or otherwise that a child marriage has been arranged or is about to be solemnized, the court may issue an injunction against any of male contracting the marriage; or the persons involved in the performance, conduct or direction of the child marriage; or the persons having charge of the minor whether as parent or guardian or in any other capacity whether lawful or unlawful. No injunction, however, can be issued unless the court has previously given notice to the person concerned, and has afforded him an opportunity to show cause against the issue of the injunction. Such an injunction order can also be rescinded or altered by the court. Disobedience of the injunction order is punishable with imprisonment extending up to three months, or with fine extending up to Rs 1000, or with both, provided that no woman can be punished under this section of the Act.


Prevention of Anti-Women Practices Act, 2011

This law prohibits several oppressive and discriminatory customs practiced towards women in Pakistan which are not only against the dignity of women but also violate human rights and are contrary to Islamic Injunctions. The 2011 Act amended Pakistan Penal Code and Criminal Procedure Code as well by adding a new chapter to Pakistan Penal Code to bring the punishments into effect. Section 310-A: There shall be punishment for giving a female in marriage or otherwise in badla-e sulh, wanni or swara or any other custom or practice under any name in consideration of settling a civil dispute or a criminal liability, shall be punished with imprisonment of 3-7 years, and shall also be liable to a fine of 500,000 rupees. Section 498-A: Depriving women from inheriting property by deceitful or illegal means shall be punished with imprisonment of 5-10 years, or with a fine of 1,000,000 rupees or both. Section 498-B: Involvement in forced marriages will result in an imprisonment of 3-10 years, along with a fine of 500,000 rupees. Section 498-C: Forcing, arranging or facilitating a woman’s marriage with the Holy Quran is punishable with a jail term of 3-7 years, along with a fine of 500,000 rupees.


Child Marriage Restraint (Amendment) Bill, 2018

In 2019, a bill introduced by Pakistani senator, Sherry Rehman, was passed in the Pakistani Senate to increase the minimum age of marriage for female to 18. The bill was aimed at ending child marriage in Pakistan. The bill was passed with overwhelming majority. However, some Pakistani religious political parties like
Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (, abbreviated as JUI, translated as Assembly of Islamic Clergy) is a Deobandi Sunni Muslim organization that was founded on 26 October 1945 by Shabbir Ahmad Usmani as a pro-Pakistan offshoot of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind (JUH ...
(JUI-F) and
Jamaat-e-Islami Jamaat-e-Islami is an Islamist fundamentalist movement founded in 1941 in British India by the Islamist author and theorist Syed Abul Ala Maududi, who was inspired by the Muslim Brotherhood. It is considered one of the most influential Isla ...
(JI) opposed the bill. The parties claimed that the bill was against Islam. However, the senator Sherry Rehman said that the Muslim countries like
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,
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and
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have already set 18 as the minimum age of marriage. One of the senators,
Raza Rabbani Mian Raza Rabbani ( Punjabi, Urdu: ; born 23 July 1953) is a Pakistani politician and lawyer who served as the 7th Chairman of the Senate of Pakistan from March 2015 to March 2018. He has been affiliated with the Pakistan Peoples Party since 1 ...
, stated that a similar bill Sindh Child Marriage Restraint Act 2013 was passed in
Sindh Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...
assembly back in 2014 and it was not challenged by anyone at any forum.


Child Marriage Restraint Act, 2025

On May 2025, Pakistan passed the Child Marriage Restraint Act, 2025, setting the minimum legal age of marriage at 18 for both males and females in
Islamabad Islamabad (; , ; ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's tenth-most populous city with a population of over 1.1 million and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital Territory. Bu ...
. The law prohibits
Nikah In Islamic law, marriage is accomplished through the marriage contract, known as a () or more specifically, the bride's acceptance of the groom's dowry (''mahr'') and the witnessing of her acceptance. The contract has rights and obligatio ...
registrars from conducting marriages involving anyone under 18. Violators can face up to one year in prison and a fine of PKR 100,000. Additionally, any adult male marrying an underage girl may face up to three years of rigorous imprisonment. The act was signed into law by President Asif Ali Zardari and introduced by PPP lawmakers Sharmila Faruqui and Senator Sherry Rehman.


References

{{reflist Marriage in Pakistan Forced marriage