PESHAWAR: Speakers at a seminar on Thursday called for better public awareness to check child marriages and violence in society.

The seminar on ‘provincial women consultation on sexual abuse and child marriage’ was organised jointly by the South Asia Partnership Pakistan (SAPP) and We Can (WC) organisations at a local hotel.

The representatives of various civil society organisations working in Nowshera, Peshawar and tribal areas on rights of women and children participated in the event.

Expert says incidence of child abuse, early marriages growing

Among panelists were MPA Mufti Fazl Ghafoor of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl, Sikandar Zaman of SAPP, Haroon Sarb Diyal of Hindu community, Augustan Jacob of Christian community, lawyers Ahmar and Zahir Shah, Amina Durrani, Madiha Shafi, Dr Rafih and Murad.

WC national coordinator Kamran Sharif regretted that despite vibrant media, active civil society and the launch of programmes on child and women problems, the incidence of child abuse and early marriages was on the rise. Mufti Fazl said Islam didn’t allow violence against women and was opposed to child marriages. He said Islam it called for promotion of education among both men and women.

Gynecologist Dr Rifat said early marriage was a cruelty both with the married boy and married girl and that it created hurdle to the development of both boys and girls, especially their education. She said not only early marriage harmed the health of the girl but it posed serious threat to the health of newborns.

Journalist Shamim Shahid said condition of the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, especially children and women, was worse than that of those living in Punjab and Balochistan as northwestern province had long been in a state of war mostly to the misery of women and child.

The panelists said people got their children married before the age of 18 due to lack of awareness and cultural and traditional barriers and thus, causing problems for both families.

They said marrying children in tender age denied them basic rights especially education and that child marriages were a violation of the law, which promised strict punishment against those behind them.

The panelists said women and children were more vulnerable than men.

They said the displacement of people from Swat and Federally Administered Tribal Areas due to military operation and natural disasters had caused problems life human trafficking, sexual harassment and forced marriages.

The panelists said women were reluctant to raise voice for own rights and that even they were deliberately kept unaware of their rights so that they stayed backward and illiterate.

They said violence against women was a very big issue and the society should act collectively to check it.

Many panelists gave presentations on early marriage and sexual violence, their impact on society at large, and the relevant laws.

Published in Dawn, November 28th, 2014