Despite years of efforts by the government, child marriages in Pakistan continue to remain a major challenge for authorities. In 2020, over 119 incidents of child marriages were reported in the country., with long-term impacts on the girls' health both, physical and emotional. 

Shabana, 14, was one among one such victims. First married to a her-24-year-old cousin, birthed a child, and then divorced without any social protection. Her education was also disrupted due to marriage. In a conservative society like Pakistan, there are very few independent means for survival for an uneducated girl and so the abandoned young girl now lives with her poor parents, without even her daughter whom her husband has taken away. 

Between 2017-2018, 3.6 percent of girls under the age of 15 were married off while 18.3 percent of girls married off were under 18, according to the Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey (PDHS) reported by Dawn. 

Unicef reported as many as 21 percent of Pakistani girls are married by the age of 18, and three percent before 15 years of age. Overall, the country has the sixth-highest number of child brides in the world, according to some reports. 

Lack of birth registration and a solid certification process also make victims more vulnerable. Dawn reported an incident of 13-year-old Shama, who eloped with an adult. When her family members reached out to police, the accused managed to forge a document, showing her age 18 at the time of marriage. 

Child marriage also results in a form of sexual assault on girl victims, with long-term psychological, mental, and physical impacts. 

Girls from minority communities like Hindus and Christians also fall victims to child marriage. Every year, hundreds of cases emerge of forced conversion and marriages, especially in the southern Sindh province where almost 90 percent of the country’s Hindu population live. 

(SAM)