Best Age for Marriage in Pakistan is Islamic Marriage Age
- Date modified:
- 2024-03-02
- 4:24 am
Best Age for Marriage in Pakistan should be the Islamic Marriage Age.
Best Age for Marriage in Pakistan is Islamic Marriage Age. Minimum age for marriage in Islam is not fixed, but puberty is the set criteria however, the legal Age for Marriage in Pakistan is 18 years for a male and 16 years for a female, as the Superior Courts determine Girl/Boy having age above 16 years sui juirs and accept their marriage without the consent of parents. The Courts have accepted the minimum age 16 of the girl for marriage and hold that 16 years girl and above is capable to contract her marriage as per her own wish. However, the Government of Pakistan and Provincial Governments, especially the Sindh Government, insist upon a minimum age for marriage as 18 for girls. In this way, the minimum legal age of marriage for a girl is still disputed in Pakistan.
Best Age For Marriage in Islam is Not Determined
Though, the minimum age for marriage is not determined in Islam according to Pakistani laws, a male and female who have attained the age of 18 years can get into marriage with their free will and consent. Pakistani laws provide liberty and protection to such marriages. Court marriage is legal and valid according to laws applicable in Pakistan, and it is acceptable and recognized all over the world.
Maria, a 13-year-old Christian, eloped with Ali in the year 2020. Neither the magistrate nor the Lahore High Court granted the parents’ request for restoration of Maria’s custody. Several decisions of the superior courts hold that minors may be married after they reach puberty under Islamic rules. The Child Marriage Restraint Act of 1929, however, makes it illegal to marry a girl under the age of 16 and a boy under the age of 18. The requirement is 18 years in Sindh for both genders.
The best age for marriage in Islam is puberty but in Pakistan?
The Pakistani government is a signatory to many international conventions protecting the right of religious minorities to raise their children in their own beliefs. Therefore, the question becomes whether the Muslim rule defining puberty as the marriage age should also be applied to non-Muslims? The international community is expressing a growing consensus that child marriage needs to be eradicated, yet international conventions haven’t been able to stipulate an age in which children are legally able to marry, and members have largely been left to determine this.
Proof of age for marriage
For court marriage purposes, in order to verify their age and other information, the female and male applicants must submit copies of their passports, CNICs, or other documents as proof that they are at least 18 years old. They must swear an affidavit if they do not have proof of their age.
An affidavit of free will must be completed by the girl before the judicial officer or oath commissioner to attest that she is Sui Juris, and that she will marry a man of her choice under free will.
The Nikah/Marriage will be performed and registered in the Union Council after a thorough examination of the required documents. Accordingly, the Nikah Khawan/Registrar will prepare and issue the Nikah Nama, and the Union Council Secretary will issue the Computerized Marriage Certificate which is also called the NADRA marriage certificate (because NADRA has developed the computerized system for issuing marriage certificates for the Union Councils.
When the newly married couple is harassed before or after the court marriage, they may file a writ petition in the court of law for the protection of their lives and families. If someone gets to register any false FIRs against the female or the male, they can file a writ petition in the High Court to have the false FIRs quashed.
Legal Age of Marriage in Pakistan: Islamabad 18, Punjab 16. Isn't it Funny?
In Pakistan, a girl aged 16 is legal to be married. Pakistani Parliament members ensured the legal age of marriage in Islamabad was 18. But the Punjab government has passed a bill that reduces the legal age of marriage for girls from 18 to 16 years. The provincial assembly has amended Section 2 of the Punjab Marriage Restraint Act, which will now allow girls under 18 years to marry after seeking permission from their parents or guardian. The Punjab Assembly’s passage of a bill to reduce the marriage age to 16 from 18 is unprecedented and impractical as it may have severe consequences. Question: Wasn’t there any other way than introducing a law allowing child marriages in Punjab? Underage marriage is widespread throughout Pakistan and takes place for various reasons, including tradition, poverty and to guard against pre-marital sex and pregnancy
In Pakistan, a girl aged 16 is not legal to be married.
I know what you’re thinking: “Are you kidding me? The legal age of marriage in Pakistan is 18?”
Well, it’s not really that funny. In fact, it’s kind of bad news for girls who are approaching the age of 18 and want to get married soon. You see, the minimum legal age for getting married in Pakistan is 18 years old for both males and females. However, there are also some exceptions to this rule when one has a guardian or parents who give their consent to wed below the age of 18 years old. There are other conditions too which can be read here if interested but I’m going to focus on just one today—the federal law regarding minimum marriage ages across provinces/territories within its borders—and why this makes it so hard for young people wanting freedom from parental supervision (or boyfriends) by getting legally hitched before their eighteenth birthday arrives!
The reason why this is such an issue stems from its history which dates back thousands upon thousands of years ago when humans first evolved into homo sapiens:
Pakistani Parliament members ensured the legal age of marriage in Islamabad as 18.
The legal age of marriage in Islamabad is 18.
The legal age of marriage in Punjab is 16.
The legal age of marriage in Sindh is 18.
The legal age of marriage in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is 18.
But the Punjab government has passed a bill that reduces the legal age of marriage for girls from 18 to 16 years.
You’re probably thinking “Wow, that’s a really low age for marriage.” And you’d be right! But wait—what about the girls who are now being forced to marry at 16? What about them? They have no choice in the matter!
Here we have a situation where people seem to be happy with their own decision-making abilities when it comes to their own lives, but when it comes down to someone else’s life, people are quick to say that it’s wrong for anyone else to make those decisions for them. If a girl wants to get married at sixteen, then let her do so (which would probably never happen). If she doesn’t want or need an arranged marriage at sixteen…well then maybe don’t force her into one!
The provincial assembly has amended Section 2 of the Punjab Marriage Restraint Act, which will now allow girls under 18 years to marry after seeking permission from their parents or guardian.
You know the old saying: “A fool and his money are soon parted.” When it comes to underage marriage in Pakistan, there are no fools—only victims.
In a country where girls as young as 15 can be married off by their parents or guardians with only minimal oversight from the state, it’s no surprise that such practices continue despite widespread criticism. In fact, research suggests that underage marriage is widespread throughout Pakistan and takes place for various reasons: families may wish to protect their daughters from sexual harassment; they may want them to have children before they become infertile, or they may simply not have enough money to provide for their families without resorting to selling off their daughters early on (or engaging in other forms of abuse).
However you feel about this issue, one thing remains clear: the Punjab Assembly’s passage of a bill reducing the age at which one can get married from 18 years old down to 16 is unprecedented—and impractical.
The Punjab Assembly’s passage of a bill to reduce the marriage age to 16 from 18 is unprecedented and impractical as it may have severe consequences.
The Punjab Assembly’s passage of a bill to reduce the marriage age to 16 from 18 is unprecedented and impractical as it may have severe consequences.
In case you are not aware, Pakistan is a country with many laws that are outdated and impractical. It does not matter if something is outdated or impractical, it still needs to be implemented because that’s the law!
Question: Wasn’t there any other way than introducing a law allowing child marriages in Punjab?
You might be wondering, “Wasn’t there any other way than introducing a law allowing child marriages in Punjab?”
Yes, there are many ways to avoid child marriage. Yes, there are many ways to protect children from child marriage. And yes (you guessed it), there are many ways to help children who have been forced into child marriage. But unfortunately, none of these options was considered by our government leaders when they passed this bill.
Underage marriage is widespread throughout Pakistan and takes place for various reasons, including tradition, poverty and to guard against pre-marital sex and pregnancy.
Underage marriage is widespread throughout Pakistan and takes place for various reasons, including tradition, poverty and to guard against pre-marital sex and pregnancy.
While child marriage has been illegal in Pakistan since 1929, the practice remains widespread. In fact, 44% of women between 20-24 years old married before the age of 18 according to UNICEF’s State of World’s Children 2016 report. It is estimated that every year 50000 girls under 15 marry – usually at the request of their parents.
Underage marriage is a violation of human rights as well as a form of child abuse; it has negative consequences on children’s health, education, and well-being through early pregnancy (leading to complications), low birth weight babies with all its associated problems such as stunting, blindness etc., malnutrition resulting from lack of access to food or poor dietary intake etc.. Child marriage also affects girls’ opportunities for schooling after puberty because they tend not to continue their education once married. This in turn impacts future income earning potential since educated women are more likely than uneducated ones (or men)
to be employed which leads them directly into poverty alleviation efforts aimed at reducing poverty levels worldwide.”
Everyone wants children to learn but is learning the right thing?
You’re probably wondering: what are the benefits of getting married at an early age? Well, there aren’t any. And that’s why we encourage you to wait.
People always talk about how children should be allowed to enjoy their childhood, but they don’t think about how much better it is for them to make mistakes and learn from them. It’s especially important for girls, who face more pressure than boys in this society—and so when they reach adulthood but haven’t had time to mature mentally or emotionally yet? That’s when things start going wrong fast.
You might think I’m crazy here—after all, most parents would never let their kids live on their own until they were 18 or 20 years old! But think about it: if your child wanted something right now and started asking questions about why he/she couldn’t have it (e.g., a puppy) instead of trying another solution first…wouldn’t you rather teach him/her how not to do that?
Conclusion
In the end, I would like to tell you, that I am a child and I want to learn. But what is the right way to learn? Should we learn from our mistakes or should we learn from our experiences
