Commendably for it the Sindh Assembly has taken the lead in prohibiting marriage of children, both girls and boys, less than 18 years of age, passing the Sindh Child Marriage Restraint Bill, 2013. Violations would be punishable with three-year imprisonment and fine. Although the bill was first introduced by two PPP legislators last year, its passage comes in the wake of a controversial statement, the Chairman of the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) made recently terming prohibition of underage marriage as un-Islamic. He had opined that children of any age could contract 'nikah' while consummation of marriage (rukhsati) is allowed only when the couple reaches puberty. Yet in a contradictory position the Council also suggested taking out the clause from the Child Marriages Restriction Act, 1929, that disallows a child to annul marriage arranged by the father or maternal grandfather, saying the child should have the right to go against the decision of his/her father or grandfather upon reaching puberty.
The CII ruling merits several objections. First and foremost, Islam does not set specific rules for marriage. The most important condition on which there are no two opinions is that of obtaining the consent of both the bride and the groom in the presence of two witnesses. That, apparently, is where the CII suggestion about doing away with the law that denies the child the right to annul marriage on reaching puberty comes from. The idea informing the condition of consent, of course, is that individuals have the right to decide whether or not to marry a particular person. But puberty comes much earlier than mental maturity to make major decisions - for many girls, even before entering teenage. No one is expected to make such an important life changing decision as marriage at age ten or eleven. The law world over does not permit people to vote or even to drive a vehicle before attaining adulthood.
The maulanas in the CII, apparently, think that the only purpose of human life is procreation. Even for that puberty is not the right time for the obvious reason that children need first to grow themselves physically before producing their own children. There is a reason why the rate of childbirth deaths is much higher than average among adolescent mothers. The CII would be well-advised to devote attention to more serious issues like the feudal/tribal customs of Vani, Karo-Kari and Swara that should have no place in a Muslim society. We hope the child marriage restraint law would soon be replicated by other provinces as well. Needless to say, though, it is not enough to enact good laws, effective implementation must also be ensured. For a beginning, a sustained public awareness campaign is in order.
Sunday, May 4, 2014
Pakistan: Child marriage prohibition law
Commendably for it the Sindh Assembly has taken the lead in prohibiting marriage of children, both girls and boys, less than 18 years of age, passing the Sindh Child Marriage Restraint Bill, 2013. Violations would be punishable with three-year imprisonment and fine. Although the bill was first introduced by two PPP legislators last year, its passage comes in the wake of a controversial statement, the Chairman of the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) made recently terming prohibition of underage marriage as un-Islamic. He had opined that children of any age could contract 'nikah' while consummation of marriage (rukhsati) is allowed only when the couple reaches puberty. Yet in a contradictory position the Council also suggested taking out the clause from the Child Marriages Restriction Act, 1929, that disallows a child to annul marriage arranged by the father or maternal grandfather, saying the child should have the right to go against the decision of his/her father or grandfather upon reaching puberty.
The CII ruling merits several objections. First and foremost, Islam does not set specific rules for marriage. The most important condition on which there are no two opinions is that of obtaining the consent of both the bride and the groom in the presence of two witnesses. That, apparently, is where the CII suggestion about doing away with the law that denies the child the right to annul marriage on reaching puberty comes from. The idea informing the condition of consent, of course, is that individuals have the right to decide whether or not to marry a particular person. But puberty comes much earlier than mental maturity to make major decisions - for many girls, even before entering teenage. No one is expected to make such an important life changing decision as marriage at age ten or eleven. The law world over does not permit people to vote or even to drive a vehicle before attaining adulthood.
The maulanas in the CII, apparently, think that the only purpose of human life is procreation. Even for that puberty is not the right time for the obvious reason that children need first to grow themselves physically before producing their own children. There is a reason why the rate of childbirth deaths is much higher than average among adolescent mothers. The CII would be well-advised to devote attention to more serious issues like the feudal/tribal customs of Vani, Karo-Kari and Swara that should have no place in a Muslim society. We hope the child marriage restraint law would soon be replicated by other provinces as well. Needless to say, though, it is not enough to enact good laws, effective implementation must also be ensured. For a beginning, a sustained public awareness campaign is in order.
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