On March 12, 2018, Center held a consultative meeting with religious leaders on Child Marriage in Pakistan. 11 religious leaders from all major schools of thoughts from across Pakistan, participated in the consultative session to discuss child marriage in the light of Quran and hadith.
The discussion revolved around the importance of family in Islam, the marriage contract and the roles and responsibilities of a husband and wife on each other and towards their children. Child marriage was further discussed in the broader context of the role of family in an Islamic society and its impact on future generations. The participants were informed of the drivers of child marriage in Pakistan as well as its consequences including national and provincial statistics of incidence of child marriage, maternal mortality & morbidity percentages as well as rate of infant mortality. Furthermore, legislations in Islamic countries around the globe where the age of male and female is 18 and above were also mentioned along with legislation in Pakistan and rights of its people.
The consultation was held with the support of an elaborated network of religious leaders that the Center maintains. The participants also included some new members from across the provinces. During the session discussion on puberty as the time for marriage of girls as well as the role of a ‘wali’ in marriage were discussed. Issues related to the ability of a husband to provide for the family and the capacity of a wife to bear children and take upon the management of the household were discussed in detail. The physical health of children and future muslim generations also came under discussion. All participants were in agreement that the role of a family is paramount in an Islamic society and that it is essential to ensure the capacity to carry out the roles and responsibilities entrusted by Islam to man and women, before contracting any marriage. The consultation further resulted in agreement that the health of a mother and child is also given high importance in Islam and keeping in view the consequences on health and the current social conditions of our society, state can legislate determining minimum age of marriage for girls. The participants also emphasized the role of the religious leaders in changing the mind set of people in general in order for effective implementation of any future legislation by state. The discussion was very constructive and fruitful. It ended with consensus by all participants. It was agreed that a statement will be finalized and shared with all stakeholders for signature and disseminated. You can download the joint resolution agreed upon and finalised as a result of this consultative meeting | Download Joint Declaration |
The consultation was held under the project, ‘Promoting Legislation, Prompting Action to End Child Marriage in Pakistan’ which is an AmplifyChange funded initiative.