PROVINCE REPORT
PESHAWAR: The Provincial Alliance to End Early Child and Forced Marriages has welcomed the resolution moved in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly by Ms. Amna Sardar, Member Provincial Assembly (MPA) and Joint Secretary of the Women Parliamentary Caucus, calling for raising the minimum age of marriage for girls to 18 years.
The resolution highlights Pakistan’s commitments under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), and CEDAW, while emphasizing the urgent need to end child, early and forced marriages.
In a press statement issued here on Monday, the Alliance stated that after years of delay and policy stagnation, the issue of child marriage has once again echoed on the floor of the provincial assembly.
Civil society organizations noted that the proposed legislation has already undergone vetting by the Law Department; however, due to weak political will, the bill has yet to be presented to the provincial cabinet for approval and discussion.
The Alliance further noted that Sindh, Punjab, Balochistan and Islamabad Capital Territory have already undertaken legislative reforms to raise the minimum age of marriage to 18 years, while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa continues to lag behind despite repeated advocacy efforts.
Expressing his views, Qamar Naseem, Malala Fund Education Champion and representative of the Provincial Alliance to End Early, Child and Forced Marriages, stated that we highly appreciate the courageous leadership and bold initiative taken by Ms. Amna Sardar in raising this critical issue in the KP Assembly.
The government must urgently present the bill before the cabinet and provincial assembly for debate and passage, Qamar urged.
He further stated that civil society organizations believe the Council of Islamic Ideology has not opposed legislative measures aimed at ending child marriage and has acknowledged it as a harmful social issue.
He added that the Council had also recommended administrative measures, including making CNIC mandatory at the time of marriage registration.
Zahoor Ahmad, a renowned child rights activist leading the Child Rights Movement, also welcomed the resolution and termed it a long-overdue step for protecting girls’ education, health, dignity, and future.
The Alliance also cited observations of the Federal Shariat Court, which held that legislation regulating the minimum age of marriage is not contrary to the principles of Islam.
Furthermore, the Alliance highlighted that the Cairo and Khartoum Declarations, supported by Islamic countries, emphasize eliminating harmful practices such as child marriage and female genital mutilation.
The Alliance called upon the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to immediately present the Child Marriage Restraint Bill before the cabinet and provincial assembly without any further delay.
