Sherry describes ICT Child Marriage Bill as ‘moral, social victory’

ISLAMABAD: The recent passage of the Islamabad Capital Territory Child Marriage Restraint Bill, 2025 by the Upper House of the Parliament, that seeks to restrain underage marriages in the federal capital, is not “just a legislative win” but a “moral and social victory” as well.

Senator Sherry Rehman stated this at the 13th meeting of the Parliamentary Forum on Population.

“This bill — which I first introduced in 2018 — is not just a legislative win, it’s a moral and social victory,” said Rehman, the Chair of the Forum.

Moved by her and passed by the Senate last month, the Islamabad Capital Territory Child Marriage Restraint Bill, 2025 bars the marriages of girls below the age of 18.

“Girls married too young are more likely to drop out of school, suffer domestic violence, and die from early pregnancies,” she said at the Forum’s meeting.

“We rank sixth in the world for the highest number of child marriages. This law gives our girls some protection.”

“Pakistan’s unchecked population growth is a ticking time bomb that has been consistently placed on the back burner,” according to the senator.

Pakistan, being the fifth most populous country in the world, has a population of 241 million, with a fertility rate of 3.6 births per woman — among the highest in South Asia, she said.

The growing population crisis, Senator Rehman said, is pressing down on every household and every resource.

“We have more mouths to feed than families can afford. Up to 40 percent of our children under five are stunted. Every 50 minutes, a woman in Pakistan dies during childbirth. These are not abstract numbers — they are daily tragedies unfolding across the country,” she said.

Senator Rehman also stressed the need to challenge cultural taboos and normalise discourse on reproductive rights.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025