President Asif Ali Zardari has signed the Child Marriage Restraint Bill, 2025, officially making it a law. This legislation sets the minimum legal age for marriage at 18 for both boys and girls.

Under the new law, no Nikkah khuwan (marriage registrar) is allowed to perform a marriage ceremony if either the bride or groom is under 18. If a Nikkah khuwan does so, they can face up to one year in jail and a fine of Rs100,000.

The law also states that any man over the age of 18 who marries a girl under 18 can be sentenced to up to three years of rigorous imprisonment.

If a court is informed that an underage marriage is taking place, it must act to stop it. The person who reports such a marriage can request confidentiality, and the court is required to protect them.

The bill was first introduced in the National Assembly by PPP MNA Sharmila Faruqui. Later, it was presented in the Senate by Senator Sherry Rehman.

Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) Rejected the Bill

However, the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) has rejected the bill, calling it un-Islamic.

“The CII at its meeting termed the Child Marriage Restraint Bill, which was moved by Sharmila Faruqui MNA in the National Assembly as un-Islamic,” CII stated.

They argued that setting an age limit and declaring marriage under 18 as abuse does not match Islamic teachings.

Although the CII acknowledged issues related to underage marriages and agreed that the practice should be discouraged, it rejected the bill entirely.

The council also pointed out that the bill was not shared with the CII for review before being passed.

Pakistan ranks sixth in the world for the highest number of child brides. Around 19 million girls are married before turning 18.

Nearly half of them became pregnant before adulthood. Only 13% of married girls completed secondary school, compared to 44% of those who remained unmarried.