amina, a woman living in a thatched hut near Kumbhar Para in Hyderabad city, is expecting her third child at the age of 20. Despite her condition, she works as a house-maid for several families to make ends meet. “My 45-year-old husband is suffering from several health complications and is unable to work. This has forced me to put in extra effort even during pregnancy,” says Samina. She was married at 14 to a man nearly thrice her age.

Child marriage is a countrywide predicament. Rural Sindh is one of the high prevalence areas in this regard. Islamabad recently got a law to preventing young-age marriages.

The new law for Islamabad has replaced the nearly century-old Child Marriage Restraint Act of 1929, marking a significant step toward stronger protection for children. The updated legislation has introduced stricter penalties, holding accountable anyone who facilitates or forces a child into marriage—including family members, religious leaders and marriage registrars. Violators can face up to seven years in prison.

In Pakistan, where sexual activity is legally permitted only within marriage, the new law sends a clear message: sexual relations involving children —even within ‘marriage’ and regardless of claimed consent—constitute statutory rape. An adult man found to have married a girl under the age of 18 can face up to three years in prison. Despite the legislative progress, the country is likely to continue to struggle with the widespread practice of child marriage.

The country has the sixth-highest number of child brides in the world; an estimated 1.9 million girls are affected. Data shows that over 21 per cent of girls are married before turning 18, and three per cent before the age of 15.

These numbers highlight another fact: laws alone, particularly when enforcement is weak and public awareness limited, are not enough to stop child marriage. Lasting change requires not only legal reform but also a critical re-examination of the deep-rooted cultural, economic and social factors that allow regressive practices to persist.

In 2013 the Provincial Assembly of Sindh had passed the Child Marriage Restraint Act to discourage the growing cases of child marriages across the province, mainly in the rural areas.

Lawyer and social reformer Rashid Hussain Noonari says that the word ‘minor’ in the Act denotes a child of any gender. “It includes both boys and girls,” says Noonari, adding that the law passed by the Sindh Assembly has defined a child marriage as a distinct offence. Inducing or kidnapping a minor for the purpose is separately covered by the provisions of the Pakistan Penal Code.

Lasting change requires not only legal reform but also a critical re-examination of the deep-rooted cultural, economic and social factors that allow regressive practices to persist.

The law, he says, has provided punishments for the offences mentioned in the Act. “It includes the punishment for those who facilitate and organise the marriage, besides the one who administers the nikkah,” says Rashid, adding that the law has given additional power to the magistrate to conduct the trial of offences under this law. It has also directed dissuasion of a child marriage that comes into his knowledge.

Despite the enactment, not much has been done to ensure enforcement of the law.

According to the non-governmental organisation Sahil’s 2019–21 report, Sindh accounted for 82 percent of reported child marriage cases in Pakistan. It also recorded the highest number of child abduction cases. Notably, the organisation observed a 96 percent increase in reported cases in Sindh between 2015 and 2016.

While precise numbers may be difficult to determine due to the NGO’s reliance on media reports, there appears to have been an increase in the reporting of such cases in both the media and police records.

It is worth mentioning that there is no effective mechanism at the district level or with stakeholders to ascertain accurate ratios of child marriages at the district level, making it difficult for researchers to marshal data. Districts with reportedly high ratios of marriage of girls under 18 include Jacobabad, Kashmore Kandkot, Ghotki, Noshero Feroze, Mirpurkhas and Tando Allahyar

Describing key causes behind early marriages in Sindh, Mahjabeen Zulfiqar, a former official of MUSAWI and the Sindh Human Rights Commission, says that poverty compels many parents of young girls to take marry their daughters at an early age. “Low literacy, lack of awareness and social norms contribute to the high ratio of child marriages across Sindh.”

Child marriages have historically been a socially accepted practice, often justified by various motivations. These include ensuring family or clan continuity, securing political, social and financial advantages, and protecting private property interests.

The practice has evolved to serve other purposes, such as settling disputes, reducing debts and other liabilities and advancing the interests of household members. In some cases, this has led to the ‘marriage’ of girls as young as three years old.

Lawyer Faiz Ahmed Chadio, hailing from Noshero Feroze, says jirga courts have had a crucial role in encouraging child marriage, as girls are given away as compensation to settle blood feuds and other long-standing disputes. He proposes a special law to curb the jirga courts across Sindh.

Those married at a young age suffer immense mental distress and unhealthy mental growth besides facing reproductive complications.

Not all inhabitants of rural Sindh are adequately aware of the harsh consequences of child marriage. Government functionaries and the civil society should spread the awareness and ensure enforcement of the law.

The author is a practicing lawyer and a freelance journalist. His interests include cultural diversity and socio-politics. He tweets as @ZainSha1 on X