Center from April 4 till June 20, 2019 held a series of poster exhibitions depicting the harmful traditional practice of child marriage in Pakistan in collaboration with higher educational institutions from Punjab, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces. Participating universities included:
1. Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology, Karachi,
2. Indus Valley School of Arts and Architecture, Karachi,
3. University of Peshawar, Peshawar,
4. Fatima Jinnah Women University, Rawalpindi and
5. Kinnaird College for Women, Lahore.
Around 250 posters in total were displayed in exhibitions held in each participating universities that depicted the harmful traditional practice of Child Marriage in Pakistan.
Center in February 2019 had announced an ‘Inter-University Poster Competition’ comprising two phases. In the first phase (April-June 2019), following orientation sessions on sociological, legal and religious perspectives on child marriage in each of the participating university, students produced posters and competed with their peers to grab the top prizes and get selected for phase two of the competition. Best posters in terms of appearance, content and presentation were evaluated by a jury comprising staff from Center and respective participating universities. Cash prizes were awarded to top posters, depending on the number of entries from the participating university.
In Phase II, (July till August) award winning posters from each participating university from across Pakistan will compete with each other. A jury, comprising staff from Center, will evaluate the posters in terms of content, appearance and presentation and announce one best poster by end of July 2019. The student who produced the winning poster along with a faculty member will be invited to participate in the National Convention being held in early August 2019 at Islamabad to be awarded prize money.
This engagement is part of Center’s efforts to advocate for legislative amendments of Child Marriage Restraint Act 1929 and to push for stronger implementation as well as creating a better understanding of child marriage in the light of Islamic injunctions.
This initiative is part of project titled, ‘Promoting Legislation, Prompting Action to End Child Marriage in Pakistan: Phase II’ funded by AmplifyChange.