A good parent prepares the child for the path not the path for the child. Child marriage has become a curse in our society. Child brides can be found in every region in the world. It is estimated that every year, 12 million girls marry before the age of 18. Child marriage is a violation of children’s human rights and an extreme manifestation of gender inequality.
96% of counties have laws that specify when people can legally marry; however, in Pakistan minimum age requirements are often ignored.
Yesterday, I heard my Grandmother talking about a 15 years old girl who was married to a man who is over 40 years old. Imagine that these young girls are marrying men older than their own father! How could this happen?
Beside this, child marriage ends a girl’s childhood, curtails her education , increases her risk of domestic violence, puts her at risk for early frequent, very high risk pregnancies and giving way to infections such as (HIV).
I request the concerned authorities to chalk out a stronger law in order to put an end to child marriage and educate the girls like parents do for son. This will help the society to grow more and bring down the rate of child marriage.
Nazish Bashir,
Kech
