ISLAMABAD: Civil society activists and the National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR) have demanded that the posture of the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) be changed from hardliners to soft, progressive clerics.

The idea was floated at a ‘National Workshop on Child Marriage’, organised by the human rights ministry and the Parliamentary Commission on Human Rights, on Thursday.

Human Rights Secretary Nadeem Ashraf said the government could bring significant change to the tone and speech of the council by appointing clerics with a more realistic approach, who prefer to adhere to the modern needs of Islam.

“Besides, the government can change the composition of the CII by appointing scholars, women, lawyers and activists in it,” he said.

A presentation by the former chairperson of the National Action and Coordinating Group (NACG), Valerie Khan, also said that the CII needed to be reformed.

“This is the demand of all the civil society, to promote progressive religious narrative through the CII,” she said, adding that the notion of the CII regarding the age of marriage for girls contradicts the endorsements made at Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) conventions.

“The OIC conventions at Cairo and one at Khartoum declared that the minimum age of marriage for girls will be 18 years – and I am sure there are highly learned Islamic scholars in other OIC countries too.”

The NACG is an international NGO that works on issues of child marriage, child labour, trafficking and corporal punishment.

Ms Khan highlighted the role of civil society as a catalyst for change, calling them whistleblowers highlighting any human rights violation that usually results in action by the authorities.

“Civil society also helps in raising awareness and helps mobilise society,” she said.

The minimum age for marriage for boys and girls varies depending on the province. In Sindh, the marriageable age for both is 18, but in Punjab and federal territory, the marriageable age is 16 for girls and 18 for boys.

The CII is opposed to increasing the minimum age of marriage for girls, and the council chairman, Maulana Mohammad Khan Sheerani, has given references that the minimum marriageable age for girls could be nine years.

NCHR member Chaudhry Shafiq said the commission is planning to persuade the government for reforms in the CII.

“We are going to propose to the government to amend the role of the CII – besides, we all need to understand that the comments of Maulana Sheerani are not the voice of the whole National Assembly and the Senate,” he said.

He said a stronger voice is needed from society, against the specific interpretation of Islam.

“A strong voice from society will eventually force the government to focus on human rights issues, and child marriage is one of them,” he added.

Speakers from civil society highlighted that there are several negative effects of child marriages, and the most effective way to counter the practice was by imparting education to girls.

Mr Shafiq also condemned the recent cases of ‘honour’ killings, mainly in Punjab, terming them “cold-blooded murders that have been well planned in advance”. “But the culprits are confident that nothing will happen to them,” he said.

Published in Dawn, June 24th, 2016