KEY POINTS
- The bill now awaits President Asif Ali Zardari’s signature to officially become law
- The bill imposes strict penalties on violators, including registrars, parents, and facilitators
- The law proposed up to seven years in prison for forced child marriage
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Parliament on Monday approved a long-delayed bill banning the marriage of anyone under the age of 18 within the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), making child marriages a punishable offence with strict penalties for all those involved in the crime.
The legislation now awaits formal assent from President Asif Ali Zardari to become law.
Once the Islamabad Capital Territory Child Marriage Restraint Bill, 2025, becomes law, it will apply in the federal capital, and only the district and sessions courts will handle related cases.
The Child Marriage Restraint Act 1929 will no longer apply in the federal capital following the enforcement of the law. However, all past orders, decisions, and judgments made under that act will still be considered valid.
Tabled by Senator Sherry Rehman of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), the bill prohibits the marriage of any individual under the age of 18, regardless of gender, and sets forth strict criminal penalties for violators, including registrars, parents, and facilitators.
During a charged session chaired by Acting Senate Chairman Syedaal Khan, Senator Rehman highlighted Pakistan’s grim statistics around maternal mortality among child brides.
“We’re losing young girls—barely 16—during childbirth. This bill is about saving lives and giving children a chance at childhood,” she declared.
The legislation marks a culmination of years of legislative pushback and political perseverance.
Originally tabled in 2018, Rehman’s proposal aimed to bring Pakistan’s marriage laws in line with international commitments, including CEDAW and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).
Although passed by the Senate in 2019 with bipartisan support, the bill languished in the National Assembly—until May 16, 2025, when it finally cleared the lower house.
The new law firmly establishes 18 as the legal marriage age in Islamabad and empowers courts to intervene and prevent such unions. Any registrar who knowingly officiates an underage marriage could face up to one year in jail and a Rs100,000 fine.
Adult men who marry underage girls now risk up to three years of rigorous imprisonment, while cohabiting with a child in a “marital” relationship is defined explicitly as statutory rape.
Forced child marriages are punishable by up to seven years in prison and fines of up to Rs1 million. Importantly, those who assist or abet the act—parents, relatives, traffickers, or witnesses—can also be jailed for up to three years and fined accordingly.
The bill offers protections for whistleblowers and fast-tracks legal proceedings, mandating resolution within 90 days. Significantly, those charged under this law are not entitled to bail—a provision meant to strengthen enforcement.
Celebrating the moment on the social media platform X, Senator Rehman hailed the passage as a “landmark day for the Senate,” thanking not only PPP lawmakers but also allies and opposition members for their unified support. She also gave due credit to Senator Sehar Kamran for introducing similar measures in earlier years and acknowledged Sharmila Faruqi for pushing the bill through the National Assembly.
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