NA body rejects bill seeking ban on under age marriages

ISLAMABAD: Standing Committee for Religious Affairs on Thursday rejected a bill, seeking a ban on underage marriages.

The drafted bill seeking ban on underage marriages came under discussion in a meeting of Standing Committee for Religious Affairs.

The bill made several recommendations including punishments for parents who married off their children and asked the committee to fix the age between 16 and 18 years for marriages.

The committee also reviewed a report filed by Council of Islamic Ideology (CCI) which termed the underage marriages bill as un-Islamic.

The CII report said the bill reflects mentality of western world and is an attack on Islamic norms. "The ban on under age marriages and declaring them a crime would be tantamount to committing blasphemy," the report said.

Marvi Memon who presented the bill in the committee and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) lawmaker Kishwar Zehra said if we have an age limit of 18 years for National Identity Card, Driving License, vote and employment then why minimum age for marriage can be set at 18 years. The women lawmakers noted there have been instances where young girls lost their kids.

The Religious Affairs Ministry has recommended that if someone wants to marry-off girls below 18 years then a condition could be put in place to require a certificate from medical officer who can endorse that the marriage will not put the life of the girl and her child in danger.

The Chairman of Standing Committee Hafiz Abdul Karim, later, rejected the bill and said 'they won't undertake any action that is contradictory to Sunnah’.