A silent crisis | Political Economy

#silent #crisis #Political #Economy

Amina is expecting her third child at the age of 20, a woman living in a hut near Kambhara Para, Hyderabad city. Despite her condition, she works as a domestic maid for several families so that she can meet. “My 45 -year -old husband is suffering from numerous health complications and is unable to work,” says Samina. She has forced me to make extra efforts during pregnancy. ” He was married three times at the age of 14 to a man.

Children’s marriage is a nationwide trouble. Rural Sindh is one of a high wide area in this regard. Islamabad has recently received a law to prevent young age marriages.

The new law for Islamabad has replaced the Act to overcome the marriage of a century -old children, in 1929, which is an important step towards strong protection for children. The latest legislation has introduced severe fines, in which anyone who facilitates or compels a child to get married, including family members, religious leaders and wedding registers. Violators may face up to seven years in prison.

In Pakistan, where sexual activity is legally allowed only within marriage, the new law sends a clear message: children’s sexual relationships within ‘marriage’ and regardless of the consent – legal abuse. An adult man married a girl under 18, she may face up to three years in prison. Despite the progress of the legislation, it is likely that the country will continue to struggle with the widespread process of marriage.

In this country, the highest number of children’s brides is in the world. An estimated 1.9 million girls are affected. Statistics show that more than 21 % of girls are married before 18 years of age, and three percent before the age of 15.

This number highlights another fact: only the rules, especially when the implementation is weak and public awareness is limited, is not enough to stop the marriage of children. Not only does legal reforms require lasting change, but also a significant scrutiny of deep root cultural, economic and social factors that allow regressive methods to maintain.

In 2013, the Sindh Provincial Assembly approved a ban on the Child Marriage Act to discourage the increasing incidence of children’s marriages in the province, especially in rural areas.

Rashid Hussain Nunnari, a lawyer and socialist, says the word ‘minor’ identifies the child of any gender in this act. Nunnari says “it includes both boys and girls,” he said, adding that the law passed by the Sindh Assembly has declared children’s marriage as a separate crime. Blowing or abducting a minor for this purpose is covered separately from the provisions of the Pakistan Code of Conduct.

Not only does legal reforms require lasting change, but also a significant scrutiny of deep root cultural, economic and social factors that allow regressive methods to maintain.

He says the law has provided a punishment for the crimes mentioned in the Act. Rashid says, “This includes punishment for those who facilitate marriage and organize them, as well as the wedding manager. He has also directed to end the marriage of the children which comes to his knowledge.

Despite the implementation, much has been done to ensure the enforcement of the law.

According to the 2019-21 report of the NGO Coastal Organization, Sindh participated 82 % of 82 % of the incidence of child marriage in Pakistan. It also recorded the highest number of children kidnapping. In particular, the organization witnessed a 96 % increase in cases reported in Sindh between 2015 and 2016.

Although NGO’s dependence on media reports can be difficult to determine the exact number, it seems that reporting of such cases has increased in both the media and police records.

It is noteworthy that there is no effective method to detect the accurate proportion of children’s marriages at the district level or with stakeholders, which makes the researchers difficult in martial data. The districts of the highest wedding of girls under the age of 18 include Jacobabad, Kishore Kandkot, Ghotki, Noshiro Feroz, Mirpurkhas and Tando Alhayar.

Explaining the key reasons behind preliminary marriages in Sindh, Mousavi and a former Sindh Human Rights Commission official, Mahajabin Zulfiqar, says poverty forces many young girls’ parents to marry their daughters at an early age. “Less literacy, awareness and lack of social principles are helpful in the highest proportion of children’s marriages throughout Sindh.”

Children’s marriages have been historically a socially accepted process, which often justifies through different motivations. These include ensuring the continuation of the family or tribe, securing political, social and financial benefits, and protecting the interests of private property.

This process is ready to accomplish other goals, such as resolving disputes, reducing loans and other responsibilities, and advancing the interests of domestic members. In some cases, girls under the age of three have ‘married’.

Faiz Ahmad Chadio, a lawyer from Noshiro Feroz, says the jirga has been instrumental in encouraging children’s marriage, as girls are paid as compensation for resolving blood disputes and other long -standing disputes. They have proposed a special law to control the entire Sindh courts.

At a young age, married people face many mental distress and unhealthy mental development, in addition to facing reproductive complications.

Not all rural Sindh are well aware of the severe consequences of the marriage of children. Government workers and civil society should spread awareness and ensure law enforcement.

The author is a practice lawyer and an independent journalist. His interests include cultural diversity and social politics. They tweet as @ziansha1 on x