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24% of women in Pakistan are married by the age of 18
(UNHRC)
CHILD MARRIAGE IN PAKISTAN
Child marriage, as a concept and practice, stems from socio-cultural factors such as catering to the notion of 'honour', male dominance, maintaining power control, illiteracy, poverty, extremist religious perspectives, and preserving the historical tradition which isn't vulnerable to social scrutiny.
In 2008-2009, 24228 children of age group 10-14 were reported married, while there were 1029784 children of age group 15-19. The number of children married in their minor ages is in millions but are not monitored and reported. The Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey (2006-07) mentions in its section on teenage fertility that almost half of the girls of 15 to 18 years of age were already pregnant or had a baby to take care of. The exact numbers of child or early marriages are not available due to lack of proper documentation and data collection. (Institute of Social Justice)
IMPACTS OF CHILD MARRIAGE
From a rights perspective, the consequences are the renunciation of childhood and that of emotional well-being, less personal freedom, reproductive health growth and educational opportunities.
Child marriages serve as a source for population growth in a country already classified as the 6th most populous country in the world, worsens maternal and infant health, increases infant mortality rate and the incidence of psychological illnesses.
“The maternal mortality rate of 320 per 100,000 live births in
Pakistan means that some 15,000 women die each year due to pregnancy-related causes” (SPARC).
