Senate approves bill outlawing underage marriage in ICT

#Senate #approves #bill #outlawing #underage #marriage #ICT

ISLAMABAD: The Senate on Monday approved a law in which the marriage of children in Islamabad has been declared illegal, which has declared 18 as the youngest and introduced a strict penalty for the violators.

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Senator Sherry Rehman presented a bill during a tense meeting chaired by Acting Senate Chairman Syedal Khan.

In his statement, he emphasized the need for legislation, citing the rapid increase in maternity mortality among young girls.

“Girls under the age of 16 become mothers, and many die during the birth of a child,” he added, adding, “he added,” the bill was previously unanimously approved by the Senate in 2013. “

The National Assembly unanimously approved the bill last week, introduced by MNA Sharmila Farooki. Once it becomes the law, it will be applicable in the federal capital, and only the district and sessions courts will handle the relevant matters.

After the enforcement of the law, the ban on child marriage in the federal capital will not apply to the Act 1929. However, all past orders, decisions and decisions made under this Act will still be considered correct.

Later, Rehman turned to X to declare children’s rights to protect the rights of children.

He wrote: “Today, the historic day for the Senate of Pakistan! @PPP is proud of the organs and all parties, including the allies and opposition, are proud to support the bill to overcome children’s marriage. This is the third time that the House has approved the bill in a form or form.

“I credit the bill to transfer the bill before I re -in the Senate, where it was approved in 2019, but none of our bills was transferred or approved by the NA.

“Today, when the Lower House sent the bill, which was transferred by @Sharmalfarqi, we jointly passed it again. Now it will be the law for the ICT.”

In this bill, a child is described as a person under the age of 18, whether it is a boy or a girl and it has also been said that if any person is under 18 years of age, Nikha Registrar (Officer) is not allowed to meet the marriage.

Registers also need to check and confirm the age of the two parties using their computerized National Identification Card (CNIC), which is issued by NADRA.

According to the legislation, if a registrar violates the law, he may face a year in jail and a fine of Rs 100,000.

The bill states that a man over the age of 18, who has married a minor girl, may face severe imprisonment for three years.

The bill states, “Living with a child under 18 in marital relationships will be considered a legal rape.”

In addition, the legislature also emphasizes that anyone who forced the marriage can be jailed for seven years and can be fined up to Rs 1 million.

“The same punishment also applies to everyone who is involved in smuggling a child for the purpose of marriage.”

The bill also convicted the Abbottators and colleagues, saying: “Those who help manage the child’s marriage can be sentenced to three years in prison and a fine.”

It added that parents or guardians who fail to stop or are involved in a child’s marriage may also face severe imprisonment and fines for three years.

According to the legislature, the courts will have the option to inform the children’s marriage if they are informed on time, while the law also ensures protection for whistleblowers who want to be anonymous.

The new law also refuses to bail on the perpetrators of a minor marriage offense, and binds the courts to complete the trial within 90 days.

According to a UNICEF report published on April 30, 2024, young girls in Pakistan face serious challenges in their education, health, nutrition and welfare as there are about 19 million children in the country.

In addition, the report states that more than half of young girls, or 54 %, are pregnant before their 18th birthday, which may be life -threatening for the mother and the baby. It added that the amazing 88 % of young girls have lived in poverty, which is a hindrance to the country’s progress.