The Child Marriages Restraint (Amendment) Bill, 2018 was passed by the Senate on Monday. The bill legalizes the minimum age of marriage to be at least 18 in Pakistan.
While presenting the bill, Senator Sherry Rehman quoted a report and research conducted by the United Nations Children’s Fund that over 21% of Pakistani children are married-off before the age of 18.
She added that many other Muslim majority countries have accepted this law and have set 18 as the minimum age for marriage, including Turkey, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates as well.
The Senator also enlightened the members about the health issues faced by young girls who get impregnated at an early age due to these marriages and often scumble to their fate.
One woman dies in childbirth every 20 minutes -sENATOR sHERRY rEHMAN
However, though there were objections, the Senate passed the bill and it will now be tabled at the National Assembly. The main aim of the bill is to reduce the number of child marriages and decrease immortality rates in Pakistan while saving women from exploitation.
Furthermore, the bill also calls for punishment for those individuals who are found guilty of going about underage child marriages with up to 3 years in jail and at least Rs 100,000 in fine, or both.
Social Media Reacts to the Passing of the Child Marriage Bill
Congratulations!! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
I’m unhappy that the #PTI chose not to vote for such an important Bill.Couldn’t expect anything better but #Opposition from JI & JUI-F
Kudos to #PPP for saying no to #childmarriage , credit where due!! https://t.co/u940hcDhR1
— Mona Alam (@MonaAlamm) April 30, 2019
under age marriages in Sindh, will be criminalized !! Bravo @sherryrehman #saynotochildmarriages #childmarriage #Sindh #Pakistan pic.twitter.com/VJszGoRwiE
— Zahrah Sehr Vayani (@ZahrahV) April 30, 2019
🇵🇰👏🙏 well done land mark achievement Bill against child marriage finally approved by the Senate
though Sad to see the opposition #childmarriage— Dr Rakhshinda (@dr_rakhshinda) April 29, 2019
Thank you @sherryrehman for getting the #childmarriage bill passed from the Senate. Hats off to all Senators who supported it. Look forward for the same support from the NA. @BBhuttoZardari @ShahNafisa @DrNausheenPTI @ShireenMazari1 @PTIofficial
— Anbreen (@anbreenajaib) April 29, 2019
Senator @sherryrehman naming Muslim states where the legal age for marriage is 18. Algeria, Egypt, Bangladesh, Turkey, UAE, Morocco are some of these countries. #Senate #ChildMarriage pic.twitter.com/7aQn6QYKTQ
— Rehan (@NEWS_BILAWAL) April 30, 2019
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