THE issue of child marriage has been prominent in mainstream discourse for the past two months, ever since the Senate Standing Committee on Human Rights approved the Child Marriage Restraint (Amendment) Bill to raise the age of marriage for girls from 16 to 18 years, at par with boys.

Sindh is currently the only province with its own law against child marriage, and the only province where the age of marriage for both girls and boys is 18 years.

It is a common misconception that such harmful practices occur because of weak implementation of laws, or lack of legislation altogether.

While laws are essential for providing a legislative framework for ensuring rights for all, there are also other factors which perpetuate the practice of child marriage.

During research undertaken by Shirkat Gah on child marriage, we found that family norms and traditions play a large role in child marriage, with elders marrying children off through exchange marriages and at-birth betrothal; children, even sons, often have a very limited decision-making ability as authority lies with family elders.

These familial or communal norms are very much rooted in patriarchal attitudes and practices; daughters are perceived to be a moral and financial burden which parents are eager to get rid of. Their health, education, etc. hold little importance compared to sons who are valued as future breadwinners.

It may seem difficult to find tangible solutions for tackling socio-cultural drivers of social issues.

Our work involves empowering girls to become their own advocates, with a particular focus on providing young girls with safe spaces for learning. Additionally, people from the same families were included in the intervention, so that girls had allies to aid them in their advocacy against child marriage.

The strategy has proven to be successful, knowledge and greater awareness about their own rights empowered girls to assert their rights, and their mothers and brothers have supported them in pursuing their rights.

While it is essential for laws to be put into place and implemented, we need to also call upon the government to take additional measures to address the issue of child marriage by focusing on increasing school enrolment, educating communities about the harmful impact of child marriage, providing youth with healthy recreational outlets, otherwise the law alone will never be able to curb the practice.

Ghausia Rashid

Karachi

Published in Dawn, March 24th, 2019