Despite strong opposition, both houses of Pakistan’s legislature recently passed a bill banning child marriage in the capital city, Islamabad. Replacing legislation introduced under British colonial rule, The Guardian reports the bill will be signed into law by the president in the coming days, representing a huge win towards protecting children from modern slavery. 

Bucking a global trend to stand behind women 

The new legislation sets 18 as the minimum age for marriage for women and men and makes child marriage a criminal offence. Activists are calling it a ray of hope at a time when women’s rights globally are “increasingly gloomy”.  

Jamshed Kazi, Pakistan’s representative for UN Women said:  

“This particular passage is even more significant because it’s happening in the wake of countercurrents, countries are challenging the use of gender-responsive language, and even sexual and reproductive health and rights.” 

The new bill also introduces strict punishments for breeches of the law. Anyone who facilitates or coerces a child into marriage before 18 can face up to 7 years in prison. Any sexual relations within a marriage involving a minor – with or without consent – will be deemed statutory rape. And any adult man who marries a girl under 18 can face up to three years in prison.  

Married at 13 and giving birth at 15 

Huge amounts of evidence show girls who marry before 18 are less likely to finish school. Even worse, they are more likely to face domestic violence, abuse and modern slavery conditions. Child brides also have an increased risk of health problems. The likelihood of fistulas and sexually transmitted infections is increased and complications during childbirth are more frequent than for women in their 20s. Senator Naseema Ehsan, who voted on the bill, had her first child at 15. The early pregnancy led to complications and ongoing health issues for both her and her children.  

Ehsan said during the bill’s debate:  

“I got married at 13 years old and I want child marriage to be banned, I was lucky to have good and affluent in-laws, but most Pakistani women are not so lucky. Not every child has a supportive husband like me.” 

Pakistan is currently in the top 10 worldwide for highest number of women married or in a union before turning 18. According to a 2018 demographic survey, 29% of girls in Pakistan are married by 18. And a child rights organization who works in Pakistan says 4% of girls in the country marry before 15. 

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