ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has unveiled a national framework aimed at ending child marriage, the country’s information ministry said on Thursday, in an effort to strengthen protection for minors.
Pakistan has one of the highest rates of child marriage in South Asia, particularly in rural and low-income communities, with rights organizations warning that early marriage exposes girls to higher risks of domestic violence, school dropouts, early pregnancies and long-term health complications.
The Pakistani human rights ministry finalized the ‘National Framework to End Child Marriage in Pakistan’ in collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Pakistan at a high-level two-day workshop in Islamabad.
“Child marriage remains a fundamental violation of human rights that robs children, particularly girls rights of their health, education, and safety,” Parliamentary Secretary for Human Rights Saba Sadiq said in a statement shared by the information ministry, highlighting links between child marriage and gender-based violence.
“These interconnected issues must be confronted simultaneously to achieve lasting social change.”
The development came weeks after Pakistan’s Punjab province passed a new law banning marriage under the age of 18 for both boys and girls, and introduced tougher penalties for child marriage, child trafficking and abuse linked to underage unions.
Sindh was the first province in Pakistan to set the minimum marriage age at 18 for both boys and girls through legislation passed in 2013, while other provinces have largely retained older legal frameworks setting the minimum age for girls at 16.
Sadiq urged that other provinces as well as Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir regions should follow Sindh and Punjab to harmonize the legal age of marriage in all territories of Pakistan.
