In Pakistan, child marriage is typically framed as
traditional and custom practices. As indicated by the report of UNICEF, about
21% of girls are married in Pakistan before the age of 18 and up to 3% of girls
are married before they attain the age of 15.
Girls are viewed as a social, moral, and actual responsibility of the parents or
guardians. Parents or guardians want their child to marry off as soon as they
touch puberty. They married their daughters off before their 18 and they don’t
look at the age of the men with whom their daughter is being married.
Girls are being married instead of getting education at young age.
Marriage is considered as a well-regarded social and religious practice in the
community. In Islam, marriage is a legal contract between a woman and a man. The
Quran refers marriage to “mithaq”. Partners should be mature enough to
understand about the concept of marriage. How a child can be required to go into
a long lasting agreement when he or she is not expected to get a driving license
or a chance to vote before the age of 18? Marriage is a lifetime contract and a
child who doesn't comprehend what an agreement is can't be relied upon to pick
her or his life partner and dependent on this reality child marriage can't be
Islamic by any means.My maid's daughter whose age was about 15 was married off
with a man who was older than her. Doesn’t she have a right to decide with whom
she wants to get married and when? We need to stop this!
In 2017, as a collaboration with UN Women Pakistan, a famous fashion designer
Ali Xeeshan tried to highlight the dismal truth of child marriages in the
country. The young girl arose wearing a school uniform decorated with bridal
motifs on the ramp. It represented that a child is deprived of her entitlement
to an education, and is instead married at a young age.
Recently, an animated short film “Sitara: Let Girls Dream” was released by
Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy in a partnership with Netflix. It is the first ever
Netflix original content from Pakistan. It highlighted the forced child
marriages in the country. The story is about Pari, a 14-year-old young girl, who
dreams to become a pilot. Her dad, however, arranges her marriage with a man who
is older than her. And she is obliged to do that. After marrying off his
daughter he realizes his mistake. During the closure credits, they showed the
dad empowering and encouraging his younger daughter who at the end winds up
turning into a pilot.
In Pakistan, early marriages both of young boys and particularly girls will in
general open them to a far more serious danger of encountering risky
complexities in pregnancy and labor, getting tainted with HIV/AIDS and suffering
domestic violence at home.
There are so many factors that trigger child marriages. The common factor is
poverty. Girls are considered as financial burden. The custom of dowry is highly
practiced in the Pakistan. The more aged girl, the high amount of dowry that is
probably going to be requested. Young girls generally go with lesser amount of
dowry. For the settlements of dispute, young girls are married off is another
harsh reality of the society. For settling disputes or debts girls are given to
married wrong men. These girls pay for the wrongdoings committed by their male
family members. In our society, child marriages are often done to strengthen
family bonds and relations. If the girl marriage by her choice without the
permission of the family, it makes a shame and disgrace for the family,
therefore to make her married is the most secure solution. Orphan girls and step
children are also more likely to be married at the young ages.
For every issue there are always solutions to reduce that issue from the
society. There are factors that help to reduce child marriages. Educated parents
who have gone for the better quality of formal education are broadly seen as
bound to have their children and little girls in school and more averse to
permit them to wed.The schools must be moderate, safe to keep away from dropout
rates among girls. Tutoring alone isn't adequate; ladies, instructors, and
seniors must be given mindfulness on the significance to end child marriages.
Likewise, girls who run any locally situated business are more averse to wed
before when contrasted with those girls who don't go to schools and don't
contribute in the monetary pool of the family.