NCSW urges NA for early passage of Child Marriage Restraint Act

Islamabad: National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW) on Friday urged the government to approve the Child Marriage Restraint (Amendment) Act 2018 moved by Senator Sherry Rehman.

In a statement, the Commission congratulated Senate for passing the Child Marriage Restraint (CMRA) (Amendment) Act 2018 and requested the Government to table it in the National Assembly and facilitate the early passage of this law.

The NCSW called upon members of the Women Parliamentary Caucus to take the lead in mobilising support for the Bill and welcomed the statement by Federal Minister for Human Rights, Dr. Shireen Mazari to support the Bill in the NA. The amendment to CMRA 1929 proposes 18 years as the minimum age of marriage for girls (the same as that of boys).

“Enactment of the Bill will have a far -reaching impact on thousands of girls especially by preventing adverse physical and mental health of early marriage and by opening educational and development opportunities to them,” says the statement. Currently a quarter of all marriages for girls take place by the time they reach 18.

NCSW, a statutory body for promoting and protecting women’s legal, social, political and economic rights has been advocating for raising the marriage age for girls and hopes that provinces will follow suit. Sindh has already enacted a similar law.