On Monday, July 22, 2024, PODA organized a training session in the District Health Development Center, Khushab located in the premises of district health authority. The training was for Nikah Khawans (Nikah Registrars) to strengthen their role in reducing early marriages. During the session, participants expressed concerns about underage girls being married off with the protection of courts, highlighting this as a significant and threatening problem they frequently encounter. They noted that many Nikah Khawans are often illiterate and, due to limited knowledge and training, are unable to perform their duties to the required standard.

Participants also pointed out that families are often the real culprits, as they are aware of their daughters’ ages and often conceal this information for their own vested interests, thereby putting the girls at risk. They emphasized the need to penalize families who subject their young daughters to such risks. Furthermore, the lack of education and awareness among girls about their rights was identified as a major factor contributing to child marriages.

The majority of participants signed a resolution supporting an amendment to the current Child Marriage Restraint Act of 2015, advocating for raising the minimum age of marriage to 18 years. They also urged the government to make the national identity card mandatory for marriage registration to minimize other human rights violations, such as the non-registration of girls in the B-form and their exclusion as voters.

The PODA team also met with Chief Executive Officer of Health of district Khushab, Dr. Saima Akram Niazi, and provided a detailed briefing about PODA and the project to reduce early marriages to enhance gender equality, funded by the Norwegian Embassy in Islamabad. Dr. Niazi assured her full support in organizing future activities with the cooperation of her office. She highlighted that in the district of Khushab, the issue of child marriages is particularly disturbing, as such cases frequently emerge, underscoring the absence of much-needed legislation to protect the rights of young girls.

The activity is part of PODA’s project “Reduce Early Marriages for Gender Equality” funded by the Norwegian Embassy, Islamabad. PODA Woman leader extended support to organize the activity in district Khushab.

For more information, please contact
Ph: 051-8773808 / Email: info@poda.org.pk
Website: www.poda.org.pk