A horrifying discovery was made when police nabbed a father for trying to sell his daughter. The man was arrested for marrying off his 12-year-old daughter. Additionally, he was trying to sell the child bride for Rs300,000.
The incident took place in Jacobabad where a father wanted to marry off his 12-year-old daughter in exchange for Rs. 300,000.
Police intervened on time to stop the underage marriage, and arrested the father while the groom escaped. According to the police, a case has been registered and further investigation is underway.
Despite there being laws against child marriage in Pakistan, the practice continues.
It is illegal in Pakistan to marry before the age of 16. However, given the cultural acceptance for even child marriages, few people report such instances.
According to United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), marriage before the age of 18 is a ‘fundamental violation of human rights’.
Sindh is the only province in Pakistan, which has updated its law to ban marriages before the age of 18. That law was originally passed in 1929.
Meanwhile, Punjab’s Child Marriage Restraint Ordinance 1971 lists the legal age of marriage at 16 years.
In 2016, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assembly failed to pass the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Child Marriage Restraint Bill 2014, which would have raised the age of marriage to 18 years.
Balochistan also continues to be governed by the Child Marriage Restraint Act 1929.
Despite the fact that Pakistan ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1990, according to which the minimum age of marriage is 18 years.
