CSAs demand enactment of Child Marriage Restraint Bill

PESHAWAR: The civil society activists on Monday demanded the government to enact without any delay the Child Marriage Restraint Bill.

The demand was made at press the conference addressed by the members of the Elimination of Violence Against Women and Girls Alliance Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (EVAW/G Alliance-KP) in collaboration with UN Women Pakistan. An e-Conference was also held a few days ago in this regard which was attended by civil society, religious scholars, politicians and human right activists. The EVAW Alliance member organizations representatives said saw significant impacts of Covid-19 on the marginalized groups, particularly girls and young women.

They said girls and young women face underlying age-related barriers and discrimination in accessing essential services, information, support and safety for protection of their rights. The CSOs members feared the Covid-19 crisis would exacerbate the existing vulnerabilities and result in both immediate and long-term impacts for girls. They cautioned that forced child marriages could be on the rise due to school closures, food insecurity, and economic uncertainty triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic.

In Pakistan, anecdotal evidence suggests spikes in the ratio of child marriages. Similarly, they said, girls in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were also at substantial risk of gender-based violence, early pregnancy and dropping out once schools re-open. Qamar Naseem Co-chair of EVAW/G Alliance KP said efforts to end child marriages must include adolescent girl programming and safe spaces.

He said all girls under 18 must be granted access to education, psychosocial support, and reproductive health services social, cultural and gender norms, roles and relations influence women’s and men’s vulnerability to infection, exposure and treatment. Qamar Naseem said Covid-19 responses must, therefore, be backed by strong analysis of gender inequalities and sex- and age-disaggregated data. Sana Ahmed, Programme Officer, Blue Veins said that emergency settings as the pandemic of this nature will also present unique challenges that can increase child marriage both in the acute and recovery phases.

She explained that the challenges include the loss of household income, higher risk of violence in the household and lack of access to schooling. The EVAW/G Alliance members put in the key demands which included enactment of the KP Child Marriage Restraint Amendment Bill 2019 without any delay. It said stressed prioritization of efforts to safely and meaningfully consult with adolescent girls about their needs, priorities, and solutions during containment, response, and recovery efforts.

The alliance called for support to public policy efforts aimed at interrupting child marriages during the pandemic and beyond. Political advocacy was emphasized for social protection to prevent an increase in child marriage as a negative coping mechanism.