ISLAMABAD: Legal expert Waiza Rafique from the National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW) has urged that 18 years be established as the minimum legal age for marriage across Pakistan, regardless of gender. She emphasized that this is not merely a cultural or traditional issue but a fundamental human rights obligation.
Speaking on the recent legislative development, Rafique praised the passage of the Child Marriage Restraint (Amendment) Act, 2025, in the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), which sets 18 as the legal marriage age for both boys and girls. The move has been welcomed by civil society and children’s rights advocates but is now under review by the Federal Shariat Court due to opposition from conservative segments.
“Early marriage is not a private cultural matter—it is a violation of a child’s rights to education, health, and bodily autonomy,” Rafique asserted, calling the issue a national human rights emergency that demands immediate legal action.
She pointed out the inconsistency in Pakistan’s legal approach to child marriage. Sindh was the first province to legislate against child marriage by fixing the legal age at 18 in 2013. However, Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan still follow the outdated 1929 Child Marriage Restraint Act, which allows girls to be married at 16. Rafique argued that this legal disparity contradicts the spirit of the Constitution, especially Articles 25 and 25-A, which guarantee equal rights and access to education.
Refuting claims that setting the legal marriage age at 18 is un-Islamic, Rafique cited reforms in Muslim-majority countries such as Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia, where marriages under 18 require judicial oversight. She also referenced a ruling by Pakistan’s own Federal Shariat Court, which upheld Sindh’s 2013 legislation, affirming that regulating marriage age does not violate Islamic principles.
According to UNICEF’s 2023 data, nearly 18 percent of Pakistani girls are married before the age of 18, leading to early pregnancies, school dropouts, and entrenched poverty. Rafique warned that early marriage increases the risk of domestic abuse and hinders young women’s economic participation.
She also referenced the Azka Wahid vs. Province of Punjab case, in which the court ruled that marrying girls at 16 violates constitutional protections for education and gender equality. Rafique described the decision as a critical precedent in favor of nationwide reform.
Highlighting the 2022 floods, which affected over 33 million people and led to a rise in child marriages, she called for urgent legal safeguards—particularly in disaster-affected regions where vulnerable families often resort to early marriage as a survival mechanism.
