Pakistan's Punjab sets 18 years as minimum legal marriage age for girls

Pakistans Punjab government has changed the 97-year-old law by setting 18 years as the minimum legal age for marriage for girls and declaring underage marriage a non-bailable offence. Many girls died of childbirth complications because of getting married under 16 years of age, the minister said and criticised the practices where girls are used to settle disputes and questioned whether women should continue to bear the burden of societal injustices.

Pakistan's Punjab government has changed the 97-year-old law by setting 18 years as the minimum legal age for marriage for girls and declaring underage marriage a non-bailable offence. Previously, the minimum legal age for marriage in Punjab, a province of 130 million people, was 16 years for girls under the Punjab Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929. The Maryam Nawaz government of Punjab introduced the ''Child Marriage Restraint Bill 2026'' in the Punjab Assembly, which was adopted this week. According to the new law, marriage below the age of 18 for both males and females is a non-bailable and cognisable offence. Adults marrying a female child (under 18) will face up to three years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of up to PKR 500,000. ''Parents or guardians who facilitate, promote, or fail to prevent child marriage face up to three years of rigorous imprisonment and fines up to PKR 500,000. Nikah Registrars (Marriage registrars) who facilitate or register such marriages face up to one year in prison and a fine of PKR100,000,'' according to the law. The law further says cohabitation resulting from child marriage is classified as child abuse, carrying up to years of imprisonment and a minimum fine of PKR 1 million. Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari said on Wednesday that this landmark legislation will enable millions of girls to pursue higher education, develop confidence and skills and build stronger, more secure foundations for their future families. She criticised practices of using girls to settle disputes and questioned whether women should continue to bear the burden of societal injustices. Referring to concerns of some clerics and lawmakers over the legislation, Bokhari asked those opposing it, ''Will they marry off their daughters at the age of 9 or 11?'' ''The answer is a definitive no. But they are pretty fine seeing the underage girls of others married,'' she lambasted. Bokhari further said many girls are married off without understanding the consequences. ''Many girls died of childbirth complications because of getting married under 16 years of age,'' the minister said and criticised the practices where girls are used to settle disputes and questioned whether women should continue to bear the burden of societal injustices.