Center, from April 8 till July 29, 2019 held series of interactive orientation sessions for Journalists highlighting sociological, legal and religious perspectives of child marriage in Pakistan.
Center is presently engaging its network of religious scholars and journalists to hold a series of interactive orientation sessions at various press clubs cross Pakistan on the issue of Child Marriage. As part of this effort, Center held the fifth and last of its interactive sessions with journalist on July 29, 2019 at District Press Club, Khanewal. Previously, these sessions were held in the following cities of Punjab, Islamabad Capital Territory and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa:
1. Lahore Press Club, Lahore
2. Peshawar Press Club, Peshawar
3. National Press Club, Islamabad
4. Multan Press Club, Multan
5. District Press Club, Khanewal
Nearly 100 journalists (male & female) participated in the interactive orientation sessions. The sessions highlighted the issue of child marriage from sociological, legal and religious perspectives.
| Venue | City/Province | Date of Session | No of Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lahore Press Club | Lahore, Punjab | 8th April, 2019 | 10 (males) |
| Peshawar Press Club | Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa | 6th July, 2019 | 20 (males) |
| National Press Club | Islamabad, Islamabad Capital Territory | 11th July, 2019 | 25 (males & females) |
| Multan Press Club | Multan, Punjab | 29th July, 2019 | 22 (males) |
| District Press Club, Khanewal | Khanewal, Punjab | 29th July, 2019 | 20 (males) |
Ms. Shagufta Bhatti, Program Director & Mr. Tahir Abbas, Advocacy Specialist represented Center. They apprised the journalists about the sociological and legal aspects of child marriage in Pakistan. From the Religious perspective, Dr. Raghib Naeemi of the Darul Uloom Jamia Naeemia, Lahore shared his insights on the subject at Press Clubs in Lahore, Multan and Khanewal, whereas Maulana Muhammad Sharif Hazarvi, from Madrassah Darusalam, Islamabad shared insights at Press Clubs at Peshawar and Islamabad.
In addition to sociological and legal perspectives, the discourse allowed journalists to interact with religious fraternity to openly discuss the issues from religious viewpoint, thereby challenging the current detrimental narrative around the issue. Such discussions are sowing seeds for creating an alternate narrative with a buyin of the religious and journalist community of the country. Questions specifically around age, were widely asked to gain clarity on the issues related to consent in marriage, poverty in Pakistan and the lack of options available to parents against marrying their children at young age, especially in the light of rights and obligations of duty bearers. The concept of a family unit in Islam, the roles and responsibilities of both husband and wife towards each other as well as towards their children, understanding of Sunnah [sayings and practices of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)] were also explored. The series of sessions provided an opportunity to journalistic voices to connect and generate a supportive discourse against the practice of child marriage.
This initiative is part of project ‘Promoting Legislation, Prompting Action to End Child Marriage in Pakistan. The Project is in its second phase and funded under a grant program named AmplifyChange. More details on this initiative are provided in this link