Alia Asadullah
Child marriage is a phenomenon which is widespread in many corners of the globe. Not only in underdeveloped countries but also in the ideal countries. Even in the 21st century where humans are exploring the depth of planet and are at the hill of civilization, child marriage still remains the same. Even though we consider that the world is getting developed because of the extraordinary might of science and some other fields but it actually does not fit the definition of success because reaching on moon is nothing good if the people on the planet are experiencing a miserable life. It is heartbreaking that a sensitive and massively destructive issue is still not ceasing. The report of UNICEF on child marriage in this current year states that globally 12% of females are married below 18. 650, 000, 00 million are alive today as child marriage victims.
Child marriage is common in males and females both but mainly in females because it is the convention in Pakistan that the female leaves the parents’ house after marriage which is no good for them rather the male stays and earns for the family. Thus, many young teenage girls are married to men who are twice or thrice times older than them.
There are number of factors behind child marriage but in Pakistan it multiplies due to some culture concepts that provoke this issue. There may be thousands of reasons of the issue but the major causes are poverty and particular tradition in Pakistan. Hapelessly, poverty in Pakistan has increased 5% last years as over two million people have fallen below poverty line, according to World Bank. In fact, every citizen in Pakistan is aquatinted to poverty, so, it is an immense drudge for parents to feed their children. They are not even capable to provide them the basic necessities. Hence, the bread-winners of the family who are mostly parents try to cope the situation by marrying their daughters mainly to eliminate the number of hungry stomachs. The other reason is directly linked to poverty. As it is wellknown that dowry system in marriage is common and a tradition in Pakistan. The proposals always demand for much in dowry from the female side that it soaks the poor parents in tense. The poor ones who cannot afford an expensive dowry try to marry their daughters as soon as possible so that it should not badger them further. Apart from this lack of education in the country also contributes in child marriage. As mentioned before, due to the extreme poverty and some cultural barriers of female’s education, a huge population of females are illiterate and lack the awareness about their rights and ugly results of child marriage. That is why even the females accept their situations without resisting.
On the top of all, it may seem new but this fact exists that many young females themselves marry with the concept of entering in a better family for freedom. In many cases where the parents are strict and do not allow girls for education or being highlighted in any form, the only option that remains for the prisoners [girls] to get free from the cage is to marry in a good family. However, this is not the ultimate solution of child marriage since only few are lucky who get broader changes after marriage such as to get education. And those who get lucky enough, in them also only few can manage time for themselves because of the responsibilities that are ahead of them after marriage and surely the physical complications due to young age and mental disturbances do not stop.
The barbaric consequences of child marriage have also badgered our country and its people. At the age when girls need to study, at the age where they are yet in the process of mental and physical nourishment, at the age where they do not know the strategy of living, at the age when they are not familiar within what lies after marriage, at the age when they do not have idea how life is spent with a partner, when at this age they are married absolutely the end is dark. There young children who do not know defending themselves, mostly end up being victims of domestic violence. Additionally, child marriage is a huge creator of psychological hurdles. Marriage with an under- nourished body is obvious to meet physical complications during pregnancy.
Maternal complications are huge effects of early marriage for females. Pregnancy issues, death during delivery, fibroids and so on. According to the reports, one woman in every 20 minutes dies during childbirth. The maternal mortality ratio in Pakistan is 186 deaths per 100,000 live births. Furthermore, encountering mental traumas is common in the impacts of child marriage. Child marriage is associated with increased suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. The psychological disturbance due to early marriage is worse than one can think. Domestic violence, particularly on young girls is a caustic topic in the country. No doubt, girls who are married at the young age have 99% chances of suffering from domestic violence.
In some cases where the males are too married at young age and most of them are uneducated as the literacy rate in our country is too much low. As mentioned before girls are not allowed to get education and neither to earn. Henceforth, the male as a head of family has to feed the family but due to lack of education they cannot get jobs that’s why they choose doing labor. To sum up, being young, uneducated, doing labor and having married, only few can feed themselves and their wives. However, it’s not only harmful for the couple but for also their children.
Even with such obvious effects of child marriage, there have not been any profound steps to cope with it. Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey of 2017-18 states that 33% of girls are married off under the age of 15 while 18.3% of them are married off under the age of 18. Even in 2022 the situation is no better. This is not only the issue of females but also of the nation. It is influencing everything and everyone negatively. Thus, the government must come forward to solve this. Government has to educate the citizens about the dangers of child marriage. It should work on girl’s education in order to empower them and let them choose the right path for themselves. It should also try to put an end to the factors that cause child marriage such as poverty and so-called traditions. Eliminating child marriage is the way to a better future of this country.
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