By Dr. Abdul Razzak Shaikh,
Marriage is a precious bond formed between a bride and groom. In contrast, early marriages area challenge, especially for a girl. The sudden shift in roles, responsibilities, and environment creates stress. Their physical and psychological immaturity to deal with emerging demands leads to illnesses like; depression, sepsis, obstructed labor, etc.
This issue is completely preventable, but its roots are deep down. Social, cultural, economic, and religious factors encouraging the rural and semi-urban population of Pakistan for many decades. There is a need to re-pattern this practice. Educating girls and becoming them self-reliant is key to its implementation.
Early and Child Marriage is directly attributable to deep-rooted gender inequalities, traditional practices, and customs.
The close relationship between female Chastity and family honor forces family members to marry girls at an early age to prevent sexual transgressions and consequent damage to the 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.
The problem of child marriage is at times justified on the basis of religious foundations.
In certain peculiar situations, it takes place under what is known as dand or bada in Sindh, Vani in Punjab, and swara in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 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. Women and girl children who are victims of Vani or swara arrangements live in a hostile environment where they are treated as daughters or relatives of the enemy.
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 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.
The fate of the controversial bill seeking minimum marriageable age at 18 now lies in the hands of National Assembly Speaker Assad Qaiser as it is his prerogative to which standing committee he refers it to for deliberation and approval.
The Child Marriage Restraint (Amendment) Bill, 2018, introduced by Sherry Rehman of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), which had been passed by the Senate amid a noisy protest by the religious parties and some of the members of the ruling Pakistan Three-i-Insaf (PTI) on April 29, is now required to be transmitted to the National Assembly for its passage as per the Constitution.
The National Assembly will be required to pass the bill within 90 days after its laying before it.
The cracks within the political parties in the National Assembly over the issue had already been exposed when Dr. Ramesh Kumar Vankwani of the PTI managed to introduce similar legislation.
And this perception of theirs seems to be true as Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Mohammad Khan, while speaking on behalf of Interior Minister retired Brig Ijaz Shah and Religious Affairs Minister Noorul Haq Qadri had opposed the bill in the Senate as well as the introduction of a similar bill by Dr. Ramesh Kumar in the National Assembly, terming it un-Islamic.
The introduction of the bill in the NA had exposed a division even within the federal cabinet when Human Rights Minister Dr. Shireen Mazari, without caring for the opposition by two ministers, argued in support of the bill and asked the chair to refer it to the committee concerned.
The two bills are expected to be sent to the same committee where they will be clubbed.
The sources said the chances of sending the bill to the committee on religious affairs were minimal. However, they said, if the speaker referred it to the religious affairs committee its passage would almost be impossible since it was headed by Assad Mehmood of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam and the religious affairs minister, who was the ex-officio member of the committee, had already opposed it in both the houses of parliament.
When the PPP and the religious parties have adopted a firm stance on the two bills, the voting in the Senate and at the time of its passage and then in the NA at the time of the introduction of a similar bill has clearly shown polarization between the conservative and liberal members within the PTI and PML-N.
Sindh Assembly has already passed the same bill and it was not challenged or opposed at any forum and the age of puberty of girls in all other Islamic countries is 18 years. Now it is not possible to pass the bill from National Assembly without the support of Religious parties and other members of PTI and PML-N are opposing the Bill. We must support the Minorities issues raised in Sindh time to time and we must protect their rights.
