According
to the UN convention of human rights, “ a child means every human
being under the age of eighteen years.” In Pakistan, however, under
the Child Marriage Restraint Act 1929, it is said to be a child
marriage if the male is under eighteen years and the female is under
sixteen years.
The
practice of early marriage is the most common in Sub-Saharan Africa
and south of Asia. The traits of this practice are also found in
Latin America and in some pockets of Eastern Europe. In Asia,
however, this traditional practice is much more diverse. Afghanistan
and Bangladesh have the most extreme cases with 54% and 51% cases of
marriage before 18 years respectively. Pakistan is no exception.
There
are strong traditional religious beliefs which gave rise to the
concept of ' early marriages' in Pakistan. Along with these beliefs
there are some grave issues of social, political and economic
importance which back this dilemma of early marriages in today's
world. The National Institute of Population Studies conducted a
survey of demographic and health survey in 2006-07 but released the
report in June 2008, according to this report more than one third of
women in Pakistan were married by the age of eighteen.
The
main factors perpetuating the concept of early marriages are
numerous. Poverty comes on the top, adding to this the lack of
illiteracy and our centuries old religious traditions and norms are
the major contributors to this social phenomenon. In some backward
areas of Punjab and Sindh the practices relating early child
marriages are outrageously inhumane particularly for girls. These
practices are far more deeply rooted and practiced in rural areas
than in urban areas.
These
practices of early marriages differ from province to province in
Pakistan and have many different forms and names. Such as
'watta satta', 'vani'
and 'sawara', 'vulver'
and the concept of marriage
to the Holy Quran. In
various parts of Punjab, the concept of ' watta satta' is very much
common. This practice is in real an exchange marriage between two
families. People often tie their children when they are just infants.
In most of the cases the consequences of such types of marriages are
not fruitful and ultimately this led to divorces in both the families
or sometimes ' honor killing'.
In
interior Sindh , the practice of 'vani' or swara is very much known.
It is a compensation for a wrong done to one family, or in order to
settle a murder case. In such type of cases often the age differences
are greater among the child bride being compensated and the proposed
man. Another type is the effective sale of a daughter to a potential
suitor, who will pay all the expenses of marriage and dowry, this
type s called 'vulver', in which women is considered as a
transferable property.
In
many instances the age of the girl is changed on the marriage
certificate to avoid any legislative hurdle. Economic
hardships and social
inequalities give
birth to this type of marriages as a source to earn money. Bride
prices range from 80,000 to 200,000 rupees and for younger ones
prices are higher.
The
cases of early marriages to Quran have been brought on media to
create an awareness among the people, but it is an ordinary practice
in much of the interior areas of Pakistan. A girl is married to the
text of the Quran to devote her life and never to marry a man ever.
These are all the elements of a major block ,that is, lack of
education and awareness among the people. The rights of children, the
rights of women, and the rights of humans all are neglected.
The
consequences of early marriages are damaging. The immaturity of the
child bride leads her to face many physical and psychological
problems. In our male dominated society child brides often fell
victim to the domestic
violence. As young
girls are often married to men who are much older than themselves,
the age difference tends to reinforce the powerlessness
of the girl . USAID
Gender Assessment also suspects that child brides are more
susceptible to domestic violence.
Worst
of all, the issues related to health can not be neglected. The
chances of HIV AIDS are greater
in such cases as the older male husband may already be infected by
his previous relationships. Due to religious barriers and economic
conditions the girl may also not be able to negotiate about the use
of contraceptives and have a safe sex.
There
is a high rate of mortality in immature mothers. Research have shown
that the children born to adolescent mothers are highly likely to
have a low birth weight, premature delivery, injured at birth and the
risk of dying during infancy is at least 1.3 times higher
among the births occurring to immature mothers
in Pakistan, Bangladesh and India.
This
fact can not be denied that it is not only the girls who pay for
early marriages but the whole society does. Early marriages burden
the society with population pressure, growing unemployment, increased
gender inequalities and the health related problems as well. This
practice not only damages the psychological and physical conditions
of the girls but it also threatens the international development
effort against poverty which is a root cause of many social evils.
