In a positive move, the Sindh government has recently proposed amending the old child marriage laws to include stricter penalty and punishments. Child marriage is a multidimensional issue, where each dimension has its pros and cons; hence it is important to understand the core issues strongly related with underage marriages in rural areas.

Marriage is an important aspect of life for people in Pakistan in general and for people of rural areas in particular. In rural areas, especially in Sindh, underage marriages are prevalent in spite of the presence of the Child Marriage Act 1929 which awards three months imprisonment and penalty of Rs1,000. The law is defied with impunity not only because of the relatively mild punishment but also because this law has hardly ever been enforced. If convictions had been made under the old child marriage law, things would have been different today.

Since it is quite clear that the problem does not lie with the law but with its implementation, it has to be kept in mind that if the present law can be ignored, the new law can also be treated in the same way.

Like most South Asian countries, Pakistan has an intrinsically patriarchal structure (where men have control over everything) and patrilineal lineage (where lineage continues through men) where men enjoy great importance and a permanent place in the household. In contrast, a woman has a secondary position within the household; she is considered a guest in her parents’ house and her final and permanent place is her husband’s house. For parents, she is someone else’s ‘property’ who they have to look after her until she is married off. Thus parents prefer to fulfil this responsibility as soon as possible.

In addition to this, the integrated system of kinship that rests on biradari relations also influences early marriages. Marriages within the biradari or within close family (known as consanguineous marriages or cousin marriages), are very common in rural areas of the country. Because of our social set-up consanguineous marriages are strongly favoured in the society and at present Pakistan has one of the highest rates of such marriages.

One of the main reasons is that since Pakistan is not a welfare society, people need strong familial ties to ensure their security and interests, and consanguinity with its economic, social and personal benefits provides this opportunity. In some instances it also spares people from incurring huge expenses on a child’s marriage. Besides this, a consanguineous marriage has very low chances of divorce. Parents therefore overlook the age factor if they find a good match for their child within the family. In some cases a marriage has been arranged even before the girl is born, and once the marriage is fixed, parents are bound to go for it usually before the couple is 18.

This age is even lower for a girl whose marriage age is decided by her attaining puberty. In those cases, a girl is married off soon after she attains puberty. Currently, about one third of women in Pakistan get married before the age of 18, while about 12 to 13 per cent do so before their 15th birthday. Early marriage affects young women more than anybody else; the foremost danger being early maternity. Sindh has the highest rates of underage marriage and underage maternity, with 11pc teenage maternity. These teenage pregnancies pose major threats to women’s lives. As they are already usually malnourished and their bodies are not fully ready for delivery, they suffer complications during their pregnancies along with having miscarriages more often than usual.

Sindh is rigidly patriarchal and cultural norms are followed very strictly resulting in serious crimes, especially against women, who are considered to be the carriers of the family’s ‘honour’. In this scenario, the most important thing that is ignored is a girl’s education, though it is an established fact now that education can not only delay early marriage but can also empower a woman to face other evils.

Opinion

Editorial

‘Source of terror’
Updated 29 Mar, 2024

‘Source of terror’

It is clear that going after militant groups inside Afghanistan unilaterally presents its own set of difficulties.
Chipping in
29 Mar, 2024

Chipping in

FEDERAL infrastructure development schemes are located in the provinces. Most such projects — for instance,...
Toxic emitters
29 Mar, 2024

Toxic emitters

IT is concerning to note that dozens of industries have been violating environmental laws in and around Islamabad....
Judiciary’s SOS
Updated 28 Mar, 2024

Judiciary’s SOS

The ball is now in CJP Isa’s court, and he will feel pressure to take action.
Data protection
28 Mar, 2024

Data protection

WHAT do we want? Data protection laws. When do we want them? Immediately. Without delay, if we are to prevent ...
Selling humans
28 Mar, 2024

Selling humans

HUMAN traders feed off economic distress; they peddle promises of a better life to the impoverished who, mired in...