Daily Times

Experts at the consultative seminar have said that 22 million of the country’s population attained the age of marriage and underlined the need for effective policies to bridge the gaps between population and resources imperative for socioeconomic prosperity.

Saman Rai, Director General of, the Population Welfare Department said that 22 million of the population of the country are of marriageable age right now and underlined the need to devise effective workable strategies and implementation of laws to address the high population growth as there is an obvious mismatch between the population and the available resources. She expressed these views during the Aawaz programme that hosted a provincial consultation seminar on “child marriages in Punjab: legislative framework and response mechanism” organised by the Peace and Justice Network, says a press release. Aawaz ll programme of the British Council is being implemented in selected districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab provinces with support from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). The provincial consultation was designed to identify the gaps in the legal framework and to chalk out strategies to address it besides bringing in the required behavioural change among the communities vis-a-vis discouraging child marriage. Representatives from Population Welfare Department, Local Government, UNFPA and various civil society organizations participated in the consultation while the panellists included renowned academics, policy analysts, advocates and campaigners.

Saman Rai, Director General of, the Population Welfare Department, shared how her department is focusing on child marriage by creating awareness and introducing various programmes. Dr Yasmin Zaidi, team leader, Aawaz lI, during her opening remarks, said that her organization works with local communities on behaviour change and enhanced awareness on the rights of marginalised including women, religious minorities, youth, transgender persons and persons with disabilities in 37 selected districts of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

She emphasised that there are two aspects of child marriage one is legal and the other one is behaviour change. “Aawaz Il recognises that it is the change in public behaviour that renders laws effective and instrumental in addressing the issues of child marriage,” she added. Different studies and the 2017 census suggest a considerable decrease in child marriage cases in terms of numbers but still, there is a need for massive awareness campaigns and Aawaz ll various forums playing an instrumental role in it. Khawar Mumtaz, Chairperson of Aawaz ll Provincial Forum, who chaired the session highlighted that child marriage is a quite complex issue so we need to address this issue from various angles. Birth registration, effective law and awareness regarding the detrimental effects of child marriage should all be important elements of our advocacy initiatives. Sarfaraz Kazmi, technical advisor at UNFPA in his presentation shared that child marriage deprives girls of not only their childhood but future prospect as well. The risk of falling prey to domestic violence, abuse and compromised health and the right to education are among the few effects that child marriage left on girls. Child marriage is also a major cause of infant and maternal mortality rates.

Others who spoke include the Director, of the Local Government of Punjab, the Regional Director of, the Ministry of Human Rights, Robina Feroze Bhatti and Nazir Ahmad Ghazi. To conclude the consultation session, Arshad Mahmood, the Head of Programme Delivery at Aawaz II, emphasized the significance of implementing preventive measures when addressing the issue of child marriage. He also highlighted that Aawaz Il is actively engaged with communities, utilizing various forums to provide comprehensive information and link them with relevant government structures through referrals/referral directories and citizens’ state engagement activities. These efforts aim to empower communities with the necessary resources and knowledge. At the end, Javaria Ejaz Peace and Justice Network Punjab provincial leader thanked all the participants for joining and for taking the agenda forward through joint action. Aawaz aims to change behaviours and increase citizen-state engagement to promote a transformational change towards harmful practices of child marriage, gender-based violence, exclusion, exploitation and intolerance. The programme has reached over 30 million individuals with its interventions and communication campaigns on behaviour change.