Child marriage

Hearing a petition against the Child Marriage Restraint Act of 1929, the Federal Shariat Court has turned down a petition making an appeal against the Act and terming it un-Islamic. The court has ruled that the education of girls is vital and this is laid down in the Quran. It says marriage cannot be put before education and educating all persons is a duty of the state as is laid down in our religion.

The finding by the court is an important one, given the recent controversy over child marriage and the age of marriage for girls. The CMRA lays down 14 as the age of marriage for girls and 18 for boys. This has been changed in many parts of the country. What is more significant is that the need for education also be used in other areas for girls and be promoted widely. We already have a culture in which too many girls are unable to pursue education, especially beyond the primary level, either on the grounds that they will not need it or because it is deemed as going against cultural and social taboos. The FSC ruling could help dispel this notion and encourage education for girls at all levels. We also need to ensure that the education of girls is given adequate focus at schools and that teachers understand that the education of girls is as important as that of boys.

The child marriage problem has been a long-standing one in our society. The FSC has also noted that it is not healthy for a very young girl to be married off before she has reached maturity and that this is harmful to the health of the mother and her child. This too is an important ruling and upholds the view of leading medical experts in the country. We hope that this verdict will help bring focus on education for girls, and increase their chances of entering various professions. This is no doubt the need of time. Simply seeing marriage as the destiny of girls is unjust and destroys their individualism and their rights as citizens of the country. There needs to be wider social dissemination of information on the matter and an agreement between all those involved that marriage of minor girls should not be encouraged. Leading clerics, well versed in matters of religion, should be asked to speak out on the matter and ensure that people are fully informed about the issue in a country where child marriage is still common, especially in rural areas and less developed parts of the country.