‘Registration of nikah should be mandatory to prevent child marriage’

PESHAWAR: Provincial Minister for Labour and Culture Shaukat Yousafzai on Tuesday said that child marriage could be prevented in rural areas through making registration of nikah mandatory.

Addressing a dialogue on Child Marriage Act here, he called for the widespread publicity of the stance of Ulema in media to create awareness among the people to get society rid of this custom.

Besides Special Assistant to Chief Minister Taj Mohammad Khan Tarand and Khaleeq-ur-Rehman, Members Provincial Assembly Ziaullah Bangash and Dr Sumaira Shams, provincial Ombudsperson Rakhshinda Naz also attended the function.

MPA Dr Sumaira Shams said that the provincial government would take all lawmakers, including the representatives of minorities, into confidence over Child Marriage Act and other similar legislation.

She said that the provincial government would make legislation while keeping in view both religion and culture. Ombudsperson Rakhs-hinda Naz said that due to lack of implementation of child marriage laws, global funds of Pakistan had been cut down by 20 percent.

Qamar Nasim, president Blueveins, told that their organisation was signing a memorandum of understanding against child marriage with Islamic Ideology Council. The participants discussed KP Child Marriage Act in details and proposed the registration of nikah in rural areas.

The minister proposed decrease in penalty on violationof ban on child marriage from two years to six months that was seconded by all lawmakers and other participants. He said it was important to take clerics and minority representatives into confidence over the matter. The participants of the dialogue unanimously decided to convene a joint conference for the purpose on July 16.