Underage marriage

This letter refers to the article ‘Child marriage: laws, verdicts, solutions’ (September 28, 2024) by Wali Tahir. He writes “Perhaps a darker shadow is cast by the fact that 54 per cent of girls in Pakistan get pregnant before the age of 18. In Akza Wahid, the Lahore High Court was briefed by the advocate general that: “Pregnancy and childbirth-related complications are the main causes of death for mothers aged 15 to 19”.

Many women parliamentarians and senators have proposed bills to raise the marriageable age for girls to 18. Sadly, many male parliamentarians and senators have voted against the bill. I have a few questions for them: How would they feel if their daughters died because of childbirth-related complications? Does their conscience allow them to let someone else's daughter die because the law permits young marriages?

Syed Hussein El-Edroos

Islamabad