KARACHI: The Sindh Assembly on Monday passed the Sindh Child Marriage Restraint Bill 2013 prohibiting marriage of children below 18 years.
The assembly is the first provincial legislature in the country to approve a bill to curb child marriages.
Under the bill, the minimum for marriage is 18 years. Those found violating the law would be punished in line with the penalty suggested in the legislation.
According to the law, in cases of underage marriages, those involved can be sentenced to three years in prison and they can also be fined.
The bill was first presented in the assembly in 2013 by Sharmila Farooqi and Rubina Qaimkhani.
The passage of the bill comes on the heel's of controversy that was ignited after the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) had ruled in March that prohibition of under-age marriage was un-Islamic.
The CII had ruled that children of any age could get married if they attain puberty.
Chairman CII Maulana Muhammad Khan Sheerani had stated that the laws related to marriage were unfair.
“The laws limiting the age for both the segments of marriage are un-Islamic and needed to be rectified,” Sheerani had said.
The Sindh Assembly in response rejected the ruling of the CII and passed a resolution calling for the body to be disbanded.
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Comments (35) Closed
Apr 28, 2014 05:06pm
excellent-this rule needs to be passed to all the poor masses in the cities and rural areas.Otherwise it wont work.
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Apr 28, 2014 05:07pm
Absolutely a laudable step.
All that needs to be done now is its enforcement in the society very very rigorously.
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Apr 28, 2014 05:09pm
it is about time... how i wish a lot of things were done long time back..We must use time wisely and forever realize that the time is always ripe to do right.The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time. congratulation folks...
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Apr 28, 2014 05:16pm
Brilliant. This is commendable.
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Apr 28, 2014 05:19pm
very good step.....but in many tribal areas this ritual will go on because they perceive it very good ritual....
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Apr 28, 2014 05:21pm
Under the bill, the minimum for marriage is 18 years....good
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Apr 28, 2014 05:39pm
I hope other provinces follow Sindh
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Apr 28, 2014 05:48pm
Great...Bas aise he Indian/Pakistani kuch constructive cheeze karte rather bekar ki cheezo like terrorism,religion,caste mei time,energy and money waste kre..I know religion sunke aap sabko bura lga hoga..bt thats my own opinion...
love from India
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Apr 28, 2014 05:49pm
Good move, now lets see will it going to be implemented in the province or not? If yes, then how? because child marriages are also happening Sindh with an alarming rate.
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Apr 28, 2014 05:49pm
Very good Sharmila and PPP.Please now look that the law is implemented.
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Apr 28, 2014 05:50pm
The age of consent in Canada or many western countries is 16 or lower . Also, implementation of these rules are impossible in Pakistan. This is a complete waste of time in a country, where there are problems both socially and criminally. A complete smoke screen in order appease the wannabe liberals. Being pragmatic will help our law maker more then living in the delusional utopia of a liberal Pakistan.
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Apr 28, 2014 05:58pm
good
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Apr 28, 2014 06:13pm
I though it is already a Federal law. If it is true, why isnt provincial govt enforcing the existing law instead of passing new one? I didnt get it
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Apr 28, 2014 06:14pm
Excellent news. This needs to be done at the federal level too to ban child marriages in the whole country.
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Apr 28, 2014 06:15pm
Finally, Pakistan catching up to the middle ages.
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Apr 28, 2014 06:43pm
Well it is noble step to protect underage girls from undue pain and suffering. However there are two things that should be kept in mind. First that some girls around 15-16 become sexually mature and are capable of child bearing. In such cases the marriage is neither harmful nor should be prohibited. The real issue is not the marriage of younger girls but the marriage to extremely older men. I am not proposing marrying 7-8 year old children but the girls that have reached puberty. Such girls with the desire and permission of their parents may be married to boys comparable or slightly older. Unnecessary delays in marriage may in certain cases lead to moral issues. So let's be reasonable.
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Apr 28, 2014 06:47pm
@zak my fear is that it is going to be challenged in supreme court... cos it is against sharia laws. i am still confused what actual laws are we supposed follow. confusion leads us to no where...
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Apr 28, 2014 06:54pm
Abinandan! Should be sincerely implemented.
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Apr 28, 2014 07:02pm
Step in the right direction. Good slap in the face of CII idiots!
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Apr 28, 2014 07:12pm
I think implementation would tell the validity of this law.
Laws are made only not implemented here..
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Apr 28, 2014 07:38pm
The present legal minimum age for consent to marriage in Pakistan is 18 for men and 16 for women. Bringing both to 18 is a good step. I am glad that the law has been made cognizable. I never thought that the day would come that I would hear myself say this but - Well done PPP! Well done Sharmila Farooqui!
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Apr 28, 2014 07:57pm
Way to Go....
Sindh is setting the History infact.
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Apr 28, 2014 08:19pm
Mubarak, Mubarak. You guys at Sindh Assembly made me proud. You will hear a lot of noise from misguided and not so educated mullahs. Don't worry let them do what they do best, that is criticize. Again well done and God bless you all. Mothers will thank you all.
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Apr 28, 2014 08:42pm
Punjab, KPK, Balochistan, GB, AJK: we are waiting...
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Apr 28, 2014 08:59pm
A commendable step though it is, who's to say it would ever be implemented? We also have a countless number of bills and laws like this, but no one ever follows them. But I hope that that does not happen in this case. Also, would be nice to see this bill passed at the federal level.
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Apr 28, 2014 09:30pm
Very good start. All Provincial assemblies should follow the lead. A slap at the face Mullah Sheerani. YES, CII should be abolished. This was a gift of Zia-ul-Haq. ANything relating to Zia must be wiped out from the country, including Taliban of any kind.
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Apr 28, 2014 09:32pm
It is a huge relief to learn that sanity still exists in some part of this benighted land.
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Apr 28, 2014 09:58pm
@Pragmatist Many girls reach puberty at a lower age than 15 or 16. But females are not mere objects to provide sexual gratification nor baby making machines. The point is at what stage it can be safely assumed that young women are mentally and emotionally developed and skilfully equipped to take the responsibility of nurturing children and home making in this modern age. The level of physical, mental and emotional development does vary but given the restricted environment girls grow up in here, eighteen as the minimum age is a sagacious choice.
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Apr 28, 2014 10:05pm
Well done PPP and MQM; this is indeed the need of hour. But still way to go!!
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Apr 28, 2014 10:09pm
Good bill, look forward to its implementation. Puberty does not qualify one for marriage.
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Apr 28, 2014 10:09pm
Girls and Boys are allowed to have physical relations and even give birth to unlawful child but they are not allowed to marry before 18 and live a life endorsed by law.
And secondly any law about children dying by famine?
People killed in "Bhatta war" between political parties in Karachi?
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Apr 28, 2014 10:27pm
its a good step of sindh government because if a child married in his or her earily age it creates many problems like unemployment,population etc
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Apr 28, 2014 10:47pm
Absolutely , for all practical purposes , this is just a politi stunt like the now famous 18th amendment as such , No purposeful use and implementation of this New legislation WILL EVER Occur Generally in Pakistan but Particularly in the area presented by this assembly . There is a Law on the statue book which Prohibits and makes Illegal , the so called Jigah/Panchait/locla elderly deciding even the most heinous crimes of karokari , In Sindh , In Punjab , in Baluchistan and in KPKH, Its just a political game nothing more . Who will implement this new law , where the old laws passed have not been implemented but are fully flouted in broad day light ...... Give me a break dudes .....
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Apr 28, 2014 11:14pm
We must not fight each other. Difference of opinion should be resolved in true perspective. Puberty generally comes at the age of 14. If figure 18 is replaced by 14 i.e short by only 4 years matter stand solved and therefore no need to disband the Council of Islamic ideology.
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Apr 29, 2014 05:53am
Just like every other law, this will never take off. We have laws for everything (except of course Cannibalism) but we always, I repeat, we ALWAYS fail to implement them. How do you expect them to bring about a change? Like any other thing, this has been done for "showcase" purpose. No use thinking otherwise.
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