Church leaders applaud change to minimum marriage age in Pakistan
A new amendment to the Christian Marriage Act says that girls and boys under the age of 18 cannot marry. Though only a first step, this could curb cases of abduction and forced marriage for Christian girls in the country.
The Catholic Church in Pakistan applauds a new amendment to the Christian Marriage Act, which was recently signed into law and 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 is the first step in an overarching plan to curb child marriage and, especially, the abduction and forced conversion of girls from minority groups, 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,” said Bishop Samson Shukardin, the current president of the Pakistani Bishops’ Conference, speaking to the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN).
“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 people who abduct and marry children,” he said to ACN about the new law.
The abduction, forced conversion, and marriage of children is a serious problem in Pakistan that civil authorities have yet to address adequately. “Abductions and conversions are taking place, and we have raised our voices many times, but little has been done until now,” said Bishop Shukardin.
The Church hopes to continue this progress by attempting to raise the marriage age to 18 for all Pakistanis, regardless of religion or geography. Their success would make the release of victims much more efficient, 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 young girls from forced conversions and marriages. We hope the government will take further steps to criminalize forced conversions.”
Through its advocacy work, ACN has long called attention to the problem of abduction and forced conversion of Christian girls and congratulates both the Pakistan Catholic Church and the Pakistan government for this small but significant step forward. “With the bishops, we recognize 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,” said 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 around the world, including in Pakistan, see the report “Hear Her Cries,” produced by ACN’s UK office in 2021.
– Filipe d’Avillez
