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Child marriage—a legal or informal relationship before the age of 18—remains a largely neglected global issue, impacting girls almost two-thirds more than boys, despite its abuses of children’s fundamental human rights. Though still prevalent especially in low and middle-income countries this practice denies people education, health and freedom. To address these questions effectively, insights into its prevalence, drivers and impacts at specific contexts are necessary.
Almost 12 million females globally marry before 18 every year. In South Asia and Sub Saharan Africa, entrenched cultural and social norms are perpetuated by economic factors which result in the highest burden of child marriage. Despite that and international efforts like UNICEF and UNFPA’s Global Programme to End Child Marriage, local effort is key to real change.
The practice of child marriage in Pakistan continues to be a problem with regard to gender equality, public health, and socio-economic development. According to statistics that are quite recent, nearly 21% of girls in Pakistan marry by the age of 18, and a lesser but not insignificant number marry before the age of 15. The prevalence of child marriage across regions and years varies widely by region, with rates highest in rural areas in Sindh and Balochistan, due to poverty, lack of access to education, and foundational traditions.
In Pakistan’s rural and underserved areas, poverty makes families even more vulnerable: they have poor options. So, the marrying off of young daughters is often pragmatic—to help make money or ease social pressures. This practice, however, is in fact reinforced by cultural norms and traditions. The continuation of child marriage is partly related to concepts of family honor and fear of social stigma, and partly rooted within harmful customs such as honor killings and exchange marriages.
Very often a girl’s behavior is linked to quite strong ‘negatives’, especially to familial honor in conservative societies, so families arrange early marriages to ‘prevent’ the risk of certain dishonor. Likewise, many families feel obliged to marry their daughters young, for fear of accusations of improper conduct. Through exchange marriages (watta satta), like the one featured in the documentary Salaam Bombay, both boys and girls leave a cycle of violence and control, continual within exchange marriages, and the worse is that young girls are most vulnerable because of this tradition. Interventions to address child marriage in Pakistan need to be culturally sensitive to also address these deep-seated socio-economic and cultural dynamics.
Although Pakistan’s legal framework provides for the fight against children, there is inconsistent enforcement. In most provinces the legal age of marriage is set at 16 for girls and 18 for boys under the Child Marriage Restraint Act (CMRA) 1929 (as amended). But the law has little teeth because provincial variations in the law and cultural resistance continue to sabotage any efforts to prosecute the Taliban or whoever stands in their way. For example, though Sindh’s progressive legislation fixes the minimum marriage age at 18 for both males and females; but this legislation has some implementation challenges. Early marriages continue with weak enforcement and lack of awareness and require stronger legal frameworks and their implementation.
So, a complex interplay of socio-economic, and cultural factors drive child marriage in Pakistan. Secondly, poverty is a factor, as many families poor enough to need money or dowries marry off daughters to get money or get dowries. Gender inequality makes it worse because we have patriarchal cultures that prefer to give education and care to boys above women, and young girls become a number that has no agency or opportunity.
Another often-cited reason is limited access to education because girls who drop out of school are much more likely to be child brides. Understanding its causes (interconnected drivers) is important for reducing the prevalence of child marriage in the country.
The impacts of child marriage are long-lived and affect both the person, the family and society at large. The most important effect is that child brides are at high risk of maternal mortality and obstetric complications, and neonatal health problems because of early pregnancy. The other thing I would mention is, in many cases, early marriage interrupts education so you have young girls who are dropping out of school and that constrains their ability to find economic independence.
Domestic abuse and social isolation lead to these psychological burdens: depression and anxiety. While child marriage keeps young girls out of schools and futures, our economy is even economically worse off since young girls are denied skills and opportunities to meaningfully contribute to the workforce. These repercussions speak to the need for and the responsibility to meet this need now to prevent child marriage and secure more equitable and healthier futures.
In Pakistan, addressing child marriage demands a whole of government, multifaceted response, which must target the legal, social, and economic levers working together to push girls into marriage. Firming up legal enforcement is important, since enforcing current laws and harmonizing provincial legislation can make a huge dent in child marriage rates. Legal loopholes must be done away with, and strict penalties laid down for violators while community-based legal awareness programs have to be initiated to sensitize the community to report and resist unlawful practices.
Another important role for investing in girls’ education and vocational training plays too. Greatly improving the socio-economic prospects of girls, delaying marriage, and breaking the cycle of child marriage is access to quality education and vocational programs. Conditional cash transfer programs working on school attendance have reduced drop-out rates. Equally important too are the public awareness campaigns plus what has to be done about cultural norms and misconceptions.
Bringing religious leaders, local influencers and community elders on board can help change attitudes and support the wide spread adoption of ending child marriage. Furthermore, at risk girls may be directed to boost support systems created for them, including safe spaces, girls-clubs and mentorship programs that give them the resources and confidence to avoid marriages. The work is complemented by collaboration with international organizations like Girls Not Brides and UNICEF’s Ending Child Marriage Initiative, which provide technical assistance, funding and evidence-based program strategies to buttress localized interventions.
Child marriage in Pakistan is an extremely nuanced problem, a cultural, an economic, and a social problem that will require a multi-faceted approach to its causes and consequences. Establishing and enforcing laws, harmonizing provincial legislation and reaching awareness are important to handle such issues. Learning is key; that’s why a girl’s access to good schooling and vocational training are equally important as they give girls the knowledge and the means to fend off early marriage and to attain independence.
Religious leaders, elders and local influencers must model and lead cultural transformation that embraces education and challenges harmful practices; prominent safe spaces and support networks for vulnerable girls provide the contexts by which the local and global bodies join together and conjoin the interest of the girls with the interest of the nation. Bridge-based organizations use their resources and strategies in collaboration with international organizations, specifically that can be of value to Pakistan’s own context. By putting education, law enforcement and transforming a culture at the top of its list, Pakistan can prevent child marriage and build a more just society where all children will have the opportunity to prosper.
About the author: Muhammad Burhan Shafiqu, National Defence University, Islamabad.