Child Marriages Must Be Banned. Here's Why

Being a developing country — Pakistan is simply surviving on the world map, and not doing anything substantial. Let's assume that if we had implemented that law of child marriages restraint given by Muhammad Ali Jinnah in 1929, the situation of women and children in the country would have been different.

In Pakistan, thousands below 18 are forced into marriage. What’s worse is females who are married in their early teenagers are forced into motherhood in an age when they themselves need care.

In many rural areas, children are engaged with one of their cousins or relatives at an age when they have no sense of life. Most of this is because of ignorance and illiteracy that our children are being forced off their childhoods. When two children are married to one another, they are expected to act way beyond their age. We cannot expect children to be mature enough to handle marital affairs, can we?



Biologically, when a girl becomes pregnant at a very early age, her hormonal balance changes rapidly that she does not have any option but to be bedridden. The brunt of it all is sometimes too much to handle. Throughout her pregnancy, a child bride is treated like a slave. She ought to become weak, will suffer from insomnia, loss of appetite, weight loss and other problems.

Moreover, there is no concern about nutrition and diet too. As the fetus grows due to lack of proper vitamins, especially Folic acid, it suffers from severe teratological defects leading to permanent impairment. Most of the times, such babies die but those who managed to survive can cause serious problems for mother during the time of delivery.

In Thar, a large number of women died during delivery. Those children who managed to survive were found to have severe teratological defects. Child marriages aren't only fatal for the couple but also for the coming baby because it grows inside an underdeveloped womb.



Motherhood is a gift from God, but like everything else in this world, it has a suitable timeframe which cannot be deviated from. By defying the natural process with which a woman’s body prepares itself to bear a child, we are putting so many lives at risk.

Being a student of MBBS myself, I request higher authorities of different health sectors which are working all over Sindh to make different teams which should be assigned to spread knowledge regarding family planning. These teams should be able to convince people, especially those in rural areas, that everything has a proper time.

Our current government should pass the bill against child marriages and must ensure that no child is allowed to marry until and unless they are of eighteen or plus. That is the Naya Pakistan we wish for.