It is generally hoped that by implementing the Court's rulings and the existing laws, the situation regarding under age marriage will improve and it will help bring focus on education for girls, and increase their chances of entering various professions.

Marriages of young girls  has become a menace which has been gnawing at the roots of our society.

It is good to note that the Federal Shariat Court recently took a suo motu notice of the forced marriage of minor girls in Balochistan province where good number of girls are married off at minor age. According to available statistics, the prevalence of child marriages are highest in our country and the province-wise (statistics show that it is over 20 per cent in both KP and Sindh followed by Punjab 20 per cent and Balochistan 19 per cent. This heinous practice not only deprives the young girls of basic education but they are also been physically deprived of an ample time to mature enough to enter into a marriage which is a great responsibility. It may be mentioned here that according to Pakistan's Child Marriage Restraint Act 1929, the legal age of marriage for boys is 18 and 16 for girls. However, the Sindh Assembly, in April 2014, adopted the Sindh Child Marriage Restraint Act, which fixed the minimum age at 18 for both girls and boys, and termed it punishable by law. After this development, there has been a slight decline in child marriages but strict implementation of the law is needed to curb this practice. There are number of bad practices including the child marriages which are punishable by law but they are still going on in our society and the laws are not implemented strictly. It may be mentioned here that the Federal Shariat Court (FSC) in October last year categorially declared that setting the minimum age limit at 16 years for a girl's marriage under the Child Marriage Restraint Act (CMRA) 1929 is not un-Islamic. Rather this act would help girls get at least a basic education. These observations were made by the court while the FSC dismissed a petition moved by Farooq Omar Bhoja challenging Sections 4, 5, 6 of the CMRA last year.

 A three-judge FSC bench, headed by Chief Justice Mohammad Noor Meskanzai, had observed: "After examining the petition, we are of the considerate view that the petition is misconceived, hence, it is dismissed in limine," ruled the judgement authored by Justice Dr Syed Mohammad Anwer. Hearing a petition in October last, the court had ruled that the education of girls is vital and this is laid down in the Quran. It said marriage cannot be put before education and educating all persons is a duty of the state as is laid down in our religion. This decision is being hailed as landmark decision in the backdrop of continued controversy over child marriage and the age of marriage for girls. 

The ruling shed light in details on the importance of education in Islamic society and explained how vital the need for education is for everybody irrespective of gender. That is why Islam has made the acquisition of education mandatory for both female and male as mentioned in a Hadith stating "Acquisition of knowledge is mandatory upon every Muslim", the verdict said. Moreover, the health of girl is also affected by pregnancies at such an earlier age. Girls as young as eight years of age are given in marriage to older men, which entail a series of repercussions for the little girls. How can an under-age child understand the meaning of marriage or comprehend the responsibilities it entails. That why the  FSC decision in October last  is being termed as landmark in nature as it clearly upheld the medical findings and noted that it is not healthy for a very young girl to be given in marriage before she has attained maturity and that this is not good to the health of the mother and her child.  The medical experts have long been making hue and cry over the harmful aspects of child marriage for both maternal and child health in the country but they fell on the deaf ears of our society where social taboos are given more importance than health or life. However with this significant decision, one hopes the ratio of maternal and infant mortality will also fall as child marriage was a great contributor to this health issue. 

The Federal Shariat Court termed the legislation as entirely in accordance with Islam and the state can fix the minimum age for conjugal ties, now the debate on child marriage should go away forever and that section of the society which used to cite religion as the basis for such marriage should also uphold this decision as it has come from the top Shariat Court which is an authority. It may be mentioned here that under the new laws the period of imprisonment and the amount of fine have been increased for a person who goes against this law.  Parents or guardians and everyone helping  in child marriage acts are to be punished with both jail term and a hefty fine. 

The 1929 enactment had set a meagre sentence of one month and a small fine of Rs1,000 for the violators which was not sufficient to deter the perpetrators of child marriages.  Now that the law has been defined and upheld in clear terms, it should be implemented in real sense of the word. In our country, the basic issue is the lack of implementation on laws due to which the menace of child labour and other basic rights of women and children are denied and violated.

Published in The Daily National Courier, January, 25 2023

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