The bill proposes to reduce the minimum age for girls to marry. This suggestion came forward as the chairperson of the Child Protection Welfare Bureau (CPWB), Sarah Ahmad reached out to the Punjab Home secretary Noorul Amin Mengal highlighting the recent statistics of the Pakistan Demographic Health Survey 2017-18.
The survey exhibited how a substantial percentage of 20–24-year-olds in the region of Punjab were married off before the age of 18. With support from this data, Sarah Ahmad puts forward a modified version of the “Child marriage restraint Act 1929” aligning it with the 18th Amendment.
Parallelly as a member of the Provincial assembly (MPA) Sarah expressed the urgency in bringing this bill to the table reflecting on the significance of child welfare and public health. The bill explicitly states to increase the minimum age of girls to 18 for marriage. Further it asserts that a marriage can be solemnised and registered on the production of a computerized national identity card (CNIC).
In the matter of conflicts about the supposed age of any contracting parties, the court will determine the age based on official legal documents: birth certificate, educational certificates etc. In case those are not available, a medical examination would be conducted.
Additionally, the bill caters to cases of an adult marrying a child and responds with rigorous punishments for all adults involved, including the parents/guardians of the child; The adult who contracts a child marriage could face rigorous imprisonment of up to two years and/or a fine of up to Rs20,00,000.
With regards to the advancement of this bill, as per the Home secretary Mr. Mengal, the bill has been submitted to chief minister Maryam Nawaz and the cabinet.
