PAKISTAN: Church leaders welcome increase in legal marriage age in Pakistan
THE Catholic Church in Pakistan has applauded an amendment to the Christian Marriage Act raising the legal age of marriage to 18, which could help curb cases of the abduction and forced marriage of Christian girls.
The Christian Marriage (Amendment) Act 2024 – applying to Christians in the Islamabad Capital Territory – has updated the original legislation from 1872 which had set the minimum marriage age at 16 for boys and 13 for girls.
Despite the law’s limited geographical scope, it could be the first step in ending the abduction and forced conversion of girls from minority faiths, including Christians, according to Bishop Samson Shukardin, President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Pakistan (CBCP).
Bishop Shukardin told Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN): “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.”
He added: “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 these people who have abducted and married under-18-year-olds.”
According to the bishop, the abduction, forced conversion and marriage of children is a serious problem in Pakistan that has yet to be adequately addressed by the authorities.
He said: “We have raised our voices many times, but little has been done until now.”
The CBCP and the National (Catholic) Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP) said in a joint statement: “We extend our sincere appreciation to the entire Parliament for passing this bill unanimously.
“This legislation will play a crucial role in protecting our young and minor girls from forced conversions and child marriages.
“We hope the Government will take further steps to criminalise forced religious conversions.”
The statement went on to say that Church leaders would like to see the marriageable age raised to 18 for all Pakistanis regardless of religion or geography.
Mark von Riedemann, ACN’s Director of Public Affairs and Religious Freedom said: “With the bishops, we recognise 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.”