LAHORE: Population Welfare Minister Begum Zakia Shahnawaz said on Friday the government was working on a bill against early child marriage and it would soon be moved in the provincial assembly for passage.

She was presiding over a policy dialogue with parliamentarians on the eve of the International Day of the Girl Child. The dialogue was organised by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in collaboration with partners Bedari and Sujag Sansar from Sindh.

She said the trend of early age marriage in the name of customs and traditions should be discouraged at all levels. Girls should be able to stay in school, have children later and use their talents for the development of the country. She stressed that every girl, no matter where she belonged to, should have a chance to reach her potential.

She said the Punjab parliamentarians would benefit from the experience of passing the Child Marriage Act in Sindh setting 18 years as the minimum marriage age for girls in that province.

Sindh Women Development, Social welfare and Special Education Minister Rubina Qaimkhani shared her experiences of moving the Child Marriage Act in Sindh. She stressed the importance of having a strong legislation, awareness raising and full implementation of the law to curb child marriage.

UNFPA representative Ann Keeling said a girl who married early was likely to have children when she was herself still a child and was likely to remain uneducated. Delaying marriage would give Pakistan a generation of healthy and more educated mothers who would raise a generation of healthier, more educated children. This was good for girls, good for families and good for Pakistan.

Published in Dawn, October 25th, 2014