Bill to Curb Child Marriages Signed into Law in Pakistan

Notification by president of Pakistan enacting legislation against child marriages. (Christian Daily International-Morning Star News)

LAHORE, Pakistan (Christian Daily International–Morning Star News) – Despite fierce opposition from Islamist groups in Pakistan, President Asif Ali Zardari on Friday (May 30) signed into law a landmark bill to curb child marriage, setting the minimum age for marriage for both genders at 18 years in the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT).

“The Islamabad Capital Territory Child Marriage Restraint Bill, 2025 is assented to, as passed by the Parliament,” the notification signed by Zardari read.

Opposition included the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII), which declared that classifying marriage under the age of 18 as rape did not conform with sharia (Islamic law).

The bill defines a child as anyone under 18 years of age of either sex and states that no Nikah (Islamic marriage) registrar (officiant) is allowed to solemnize a marriage if either of the individuals is under 18. Registrars are also required to check and confirm the age of both parties using their Computerized National Identity Cards (CNIC), issued by National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA).

As per the legislation, if a registrar violates this law, they can face up to one year in jail and a fine of 100,000 Pakistani Rupees ($355 USD). The bill says that any man over 18 who marries an underage girl could face up to three years of rigorous imprisonment.

“Living with a child under 18 in a marital relationship will be considered statutory rape,” the bill states.

Hailing the bill as a landmark victory in the fight against child marriage, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Sen. Sherry Rehman, who introduced the bill in the Senate on May 19 after its passage in the National Assembly on May 16, described the legislation as a crucial step toward protecting the rights of women and children.

“This law is a result of a long and difficult struggle, and it will help improve the education and health of young girls,” Rehman stated in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

She lauded Zardari for signing the bill despite pressure from Islamist forces.

“The signing of the Child Marriage Restraint Bill is a symbol of a new era of reforms in Pakistan,” she stated. “This bill is not just a law, it is a commitment that our girls have the right to education, health and a prosperous life.”

She called on other provinces to take steps towards such legislation.

CII member Maulana Jalaludin of the right-wing, Islamist party Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) had warned Zardari against signing the bill in a prior press statement.

“Parliament is not above the Quran and Sunnah,” Jalaludin said. “This bill is not only against the norms of sharia but also contrary to the values of our society and our traditions.”

He termed the legislation part of a Western conspiracy to destroy “family system” in Pakistan. The “bad intentions” were evident as the bill was not forwarded to the CII but approved by Parliament “in secrecy,” he claimed.

Criticizing the CII for opposing the crucial legislation, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) said in a statement that the bill was in accordance with Pakistan’s constitutional guarantees and international human rights commitments.

“Framing child protection as incompatible with religion not only undermines the rights of every child but also reflects a deeply lopsided interpretation of Islamic principles,” the HRCP said.

The CII, in its advisory response, had argued that Islamic jurisprudence permits the marriage of girls once they attain puberty, regardless of age. It said that setting a fixed minimum age of 18 for marriage contradicts certain religious interpretations and therefore should not be made legally binding.

HRCP countered by asserting that the state has to legislate in the best interest of children, particularly to prevent early marriages that have been linked to serious health risks, denial of education and systemic gender inequality. The rights body called on the government to resist pressures that sought to dilute the bill and to ensure its full and immediate implementation.

“The state must not capitulate to regressive positions that endanger children’s lives and futures,” the body stated.

Christian rights activists praised Zardari for giving his assent to the legislation, terming it a watershed moment in the struggle to protect underage minority girls from forced faith conversions and marriages to their abductors.

“Though this landmark legislation is restricted to the Islamabad Capital Territory, it will help pave the way for passage of a similar law in Punjab Province, where Christians girls are the prime targets of forced conversions and marriage,” said Christian attorney Lazar Allah Rakha.

Rakha, who has successfully defended several Christians falsely accused of blasphemy and rescued Christian girls from Muslim kidnappers, said that Zardari’s approval of the bill “was a ray of hope for Christians in Punjab.”

“I’m very hopeful that the child marriage bill tabled in the Punjab Assembly last year and now pending review in the CII will also be presented for vote soon,” he told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News. “Fixing the legal age for marriage to 18 years for both genders will deter the perpetrators from falsely converting minor Christian girls to give a legal cover to their sexual crimes.”

Pending approval of the Punjab bill, the minimum age for girls to marry is still 16 in the province. Nationally, the Christian Marriage (Amendment) Act 2024 set the marriageable age at 18 only for Christians; if they convert to Islam, girls considered Muslims come under sharia, which allows them to marry younger.

Typically, kidnapped girls in Pakistan, some as young as 10, are abducted, forced to convert to Islam and raped under cover of Islamic “marriages” and are then pressured to record false statements in favor of the kidnappers, rights advocates say. Judges routinely ignore documentary evidence related to the children’s ages, handing them back to kidnappers as their “legal wives.”

Pakistan, whose population is 96 percent Muslim, ranked eighth on Open Doors’ 2025 World Watch List of the most difficult places to be a Christian.

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