Early Child Marriage Bill To Be Tabled In NA Soon; Says Dr. Mazari

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 13th Dec, 2018 ) :The Ministry of Human Rights would soon table Early Child Marriage Bill in the Parliament to prohibit child marriage before attaining the age of 18 years, said Minister of Human Rights Dr Shireen M Mazari here on Thursday.

Talking to APP, she said the Bill is suggesting amendments in Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929 as 18 percent marriages in Pakistan are normally conducted before the age of 16 in violation of Child Marriage Restraint Act.

She said there is no regulatory framework to deal with overall marriages specially in Hindu Marriage Bill and Sikh Marriage Acts. In both, the marriages of male and female above 18 years will be registered in their respective areas under the Act.

She further said that the previous government fails to push coalition partners for the enactment of the Hindu Marriage Bill 2011 which prohibits marriage of non-Muslim girls and boys below 18 years of age.

She said that 21 percent girls are married by the age of 18 and 3 percent before 15 and child marriage tends to occur in backward ares. The girls married under 18 years of age are more prone to domestic violence as comparing to woman who marry above 18 years. Additionally, child marriage sinks families deeper into poverty due to surge in population, she added.