Church leaders applaud change to minimum marriage age in Pakistan
An amendment to the Christian Marriage Act means that girls and boys cannot marry below the age of 18. Though only a first step, this could make it easier to curb cases of abduction and forced marriage of Christian girls in the country.
The Catholic Church in Pakistan has applauded the signing into law of an amendment to the Christian Marriage Act, which raises the age of marriage to 18 for both boys and girls.
Though limited in scope – the law applies only to Christians in the Islamabad Capital Territory – Church leaders hope this will be the first step in an overarching plan to curb child marriage and, especially, the abduction and forced conversion of girls from minorities, including Christians.
“Often, when girls are abducted, they can easily be married, because they are taken somewhere where the marriageable age is 16, or sometimes the Muslims will say that they are already of marrying age. But we Christians say that they should not be married at all before the age of 18, because they are still children,” says Bishop Samson Shukardin, the current president of the Pakistani Bishops’ Conference, speaking to the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need.
“This will give us a little peace of mind; not full peace of mind, but some. At least in these situations we have grounds for opening a case against these people who have abducted and married under-18-year-olds,” he said to ACN about the new law.
Abduction, forced conversion and marriage of children is a serious problem in Pakistan that has yet to be adequately addressed by civil authorities. “The problem is abductions and conversions are taking place and we have raised our voices many times, but little has been done until now,” says Bishop Shukardin.
The Church now hopes to continue this battle by attempting to raise the age for marriage to 18 for all Pakistanis regardless of religion or geography. Success in this struggle would make releasing victims of abduction and forced marriage much more expedient, the bishops believe.
In a joint statement sent to ACN by the National Commission for Justice and Peace, the Catholic leaders thank the Islamabad parliament for passing the bill unanimously. “This legislation will play a crucial role in protecting our young and minor girls from forced conversions and marriages. We hope the government will take further steps to criminalise forced conversions.”
Through its advocacy work, the pontifical foundation has long drawn attention to the problem of abduction and forced conversion of Christian girls and congratulates the Pakistan Catholic Church and the Pakistan government for this small but significant step forward. “With the bishops, we recognise that more needs to be done to fully address this issue, but any action to end the trauma of young girls kidnapped, sexually abused and then forced to renounce their faith and marry their abductor is to be welcomed,” states Mark von Riedemann, ACN’s Director of Public Affairs and Religious Freedom.
For more information on the abduction, forced conversion and forced marriage of Christian girls in the world, including in Pakistan, see the report “Hear her cries”, produced by ACN’s UK office in 2021.
