PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Saturday called for an end to child marriage in Pakistan and blasted the PTI for describing the demand as un-Islamic.
In a tweet, Bilawal cited the example of some other Muslim countries where child marriage is prohibited and said a girl dies in Pakistan after every 20 minutes due to underage pregnancy.
UAE marriage age is 18, Indonesia is 18 & Turkey is also 18. Are they not Muslim countries? In Sindh where marriage age is 18, we saw how law stopped an adult marrying a 10 year old! Every 20 minutes a girl dies in Pakistan as a result of underage pregnancy. #EndChildMarriage”
Later in a detailed Instagram post, he wrote, “We in Sindh managed to save the 10-year-old girl above from marrying this man because we have banned child marriage. It’s time for the rest of Pakistan to do the same.”
Bilawal was referring to a recent attempt in Sindh to marry a minor to a 40-year-old man. The police of the province, where the PPP is in power, has arrested the groom and is in search of the girl’s father.
Sindh outlawed under-age marriage in 2014, raising the minimum age of marriage for boys and girls to 18 years. However, a recent attempt to pass a similar law at the national level faced opposition from the members of the ruling PTI and the religious parties, who termed the bill “un-Islamic”.
The Council for Islamic Ideology too has opposed the move and claimed that it will create complications.
In a tweet, Bilawal cited the example of some other Muslim countries where child marriage is prohibited and said a girl dies in Pakistan after every 20 minutes due to underage pregnancy.
UAE marriage age is 18, Indonesia is 18 & Turkey is also 18. Are they not Muslim countries? In Sindh where marriage age is 18, we saw how law stopped an adult marrying a 10 year old! Every 20 minutes a girl dies in Pakistan as a result of underage pregnancy. #EndChildMarriage”
Later in a detailed Instagram post, he wrote, “We in Sindh managed to save the 10-year-old girl above from marrying this man because we have banned child marriage. It’s time for the rest of Pakistan to do the same.”
Bilawal was referring to a recent attempt in Sindh to marry a minor to a 40-year-old man. The police of the province, where the PPP is in power, has arrested the groom and is in search of the girl’s father.
Sindh outlawed under-age marriage in 2014, raising the minimum age of marriage for boys and girls to 18 years. However, a recent attempt to pass a similar law at the national level faced opposition from the members of the ruling PTI and the religious parties, who termed the bill “un-Islamic”.
The Council for Islamic Ideology too has opposed the move and claimed that it will create complications.