The women lawmakers of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly have lashed out at the provincial government for its inability to put an end to domestic violence against women and child marriages due to the absence of relevant legislation.
During the session of the assembly, Nighat Yasmin Orakzai of the Pakistan People's Party and Maliha Ali Asghar Khan and Sumaira Shams of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf raised the incidents of early marriages, death of a minor girl and rape case of a minor girl.
The women MPAs said an 11-year-old girl was married in Torghar district, while a teenage girl was raped in Charsadda district. In another incident, a 12-year-old girl with a disability was married to a teenager. She was killed due to torture by her in-laws 13 days later.
The lawmakers complained that the provincial assembly hadn’t made laws to check early marriages and domestic violence against women. “KP has yet to legislate about early marriages and domestic violence, even though Punjab and Sindh have already passed laws to stop domestic violence against women,” a lawmaker said.
Law minister Sultan Mohammad Khan informed the house that a proposed law regarding domestic violence against women had been referred to the house’s Select Committee, while the Child Marriage Restraint Bill would be presented before the cabinet in the next meeting.
The KP Assembly speaker has also sought a report on the abovementioned incidents.
During the session of the assembly, Nighat Yasmin Orakzai of the Pakistan People's Party and Maliha Ali Asghar Khan and Sumaira Shams of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf raised the incidents of early marriages, death of a minor girl and rape case of a minor girl.
The women MPAs said an 11-year-old girl was married in Torghar district, while a teenage girl was raped in Charsadda district. In another incident, a 12-year-old girl with a disability was married to a teenager. She was killed due to torture by her in-laws 13 days later.
The lawmakers complained that the provincial assembly hadn’t made laws to check early marriages and domestic violence against women. “KP has yet to legislate about early marriages and domestic violence, even though Punjab and Sindh have already passed laws to stop domestic violence against women,” a lawmaker said.
Law minister Sultan Mohammad Khan informed the house that a proposed law regarding domestic violence against women had been referred to the house’s Select Committee, while the Child Marriage Restraint Bill would be presented before the cabinet in the next meeting.
The KP Assembly speaker has also sought a report on the abovementioned incidents.