Pakistan’s parliament on Monday (May 19) passed a significant bill aiming to curb, discourage and eventually eradicate child marriages in the federal capital by raising the legal age of marriage for both sexes to 18 years.
Sharmila Faruqui of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) introduced the bill in the National Assembly on Friday (May 16), and House members unanimously approved it. PPP Sen. Sherry Rehman on Monday (May 19) then introduced the bill in the Senate, which passed it despite strong protest and a walkout by members of the Islamist party, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F).
The JUI-F senators termed the bill “un-Islamic” and in conflict with cultural and religious values and demanded it be sent to the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) for review. The majority members, however, argued it was already approved by the CII, and that similar legislation was enforced in Sindh Province for over a decade without any issue.
The bill has been sent to President Asif Ali Zardari for his assent. Once signed into law, it would apply only to the federal capital Islamabad, and only district and sessions courts would handle related cases. The Child Marriage Restraint Act 1929 would no longer apply in the federal capital following enforcement of the law, but all past orders, decisions and judgments made under that act would still be considered valid.
“In this modern day and age, we have the resources and the research which invariably proves that child marriage is harmful to both genders and especially girls who have hit puberty and are able to bear children,” states the bill. “Furthermore, child marriages are in complete violation of the rights of children, and international obligations and goal 5 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals focuses on gender equality and includes a target to end child marriage by 2030. Therefore, in order to restrain child marriages and protect the basic rights of children, it is expedient to enact a law for the ICT.”
The bill defines a child as anyone under 18 years of age, whether boy or girl, and also states that no Nikah (Islamic marriage) registrar (officiant) is allowed to solemnize a marriage if either of the individuals is under 18.
Registrars are also required to check and confirm the age of both parties using their Computerized National Identity Cards (CNIC), issued by National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA).
As per the legislation, if a registrar violates this law, they can face up to one year in jail and a fine of 100,000 Pakistani Rupees ($354 USD).
The bill says that any man over 18 who marries an underage girl could face up to three years of rigorous imprisonment.
“Living with a child under 18 in a marital relationship will be considered statutory rape,” the bill states.
Moreover, the legislation also stresses that anyone who forces a child into marriage could be jailed for up to seven years and fined up to 1 million Pakistani Rupees ($3,540 USD).
“The same punishment applies to anyone involved in trafficking a child for the purpose of marriage,” it specifies.
The bill also criminalizes abettors and accomplices, stating: “Those who assist in arranging a child marriage may be sentenced to up to three years in prison and fined.”
It further states that parents or guardians who fail to stop or are involved in a child’s marriage can also face up to three years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine.
According to the legislation, courts will have the authority to stop a child marriage if informed in time, while the law also ensures protection for whistleblowers who wish to remain anonymous.
The new law also denies bail to the perpetrators of the crime of underage marriage, and binds the courts of law to complete the trial within 90 days.
‘Major Step’
After the Senate approved the bill, Sen. Rehman took to X to celebrate what she called a major step towards protecting children’s rights.
“Landmark day for the Senate of Pakistan today! Proud of the @PPP_Org and all the parties including allies and the opposition for supporting the Child Marriage Restraint bill,” she wrote. “This is third time this House has passed this bill in one shape or form. I credit @SeharKamran for moving this bill before I did again in the Senate, where it was passed in 2019, but neither of our bills was moved or passed by NA. Today when the Lower House sent the bill to us, moved by @sharmilafaruqi, we jointly passed it yet again. Now it will be law inshallah for ICT.”
Lauding the proposed legislation, Punjab Assembly member Ejaz Alam Augustine, a Christian, said it was a revolutionary step for the protection of children, especially girls, in terms of health, education and life.
“We welcome the passage of the bill and hope that the anti-child marriage bill pending in the Punjab Assembly for over a year will also be tabled soon for voting,” Augustine told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News. “The legislation is also critical to protect minor Christian girls from the scourge of forced faith conversions as the perpetrators misuse religion to abduct and marry underage girls.”
The bill pending in the Punjab Assembly since April 25, 2024, seeks to increase the legal age for marriage for both boys and girls to 18 years in Punjab. Pending approval of the bill, the minimum age for girls to marry is still 16. Nationally, the Christian Marriage (Amendment) Act 2024 set the marriageable age at 18 only for Christians; if they convert to Islam, girls considered Muslims come under sharia (Islamic law), which allows them to marry younger.
Typically, kidnapped girls in Pakistan, some as young as 10, are abducted, forced to convert to Islam and raped under cover of Islamic “marriages” and are then pressured to record false statements in favor of the kidnappers, rights advocates say. Judges routinely ignore documentary evidence related to the children’s ages, handing them back to kidnappers as their “legal wives.”
Noting that Pakistan often suffers from poor implementation of laws after they’re passed, Augustine, who has previously served as the minister for human rights and minorities affairs in Punjab, stressed the need for community-based watch committees comprising local representatives, human rights activists, and citizens to ensure effective enforcement.
Pakistan, whose population is 96-percent Muslim, ranked eighth on Open Doors’ 2025 World Watch List of the most difficult places to be a Christian.
