ISLAMABAD: Child marriages are one of the reasons among others for the existing maternal and infant mortality rate, stated results of the Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey (PDHS). Shagufta Bhatti, the project director, stated this while speaking at a consultative session titled: ‘Promoting Legislation, Prompting Action to End Child Marriage in Pakistan’, held under the auspices of Center for Communication Programmes Pakistan at a local hotel on Tuesday. The consultation aimed at promoting discourse on the issue of child marriages with journalists as well as highlighting the role of media in bringing the issue to the attention of policymakers for legislative reforms. Shagufta Bhatti discussed various reasons, including social and cultural traditions/taboos, poverty and lack of education that were identified as the real underlying factors to justify the act of child marriages in Pakistan. “The definition of child is not mentioned in the constitution, which obstructs any effort to stop child marriages or even get it recognised as an issue of importance in Pakistan. The definition of child is recognised as 18 years for the boys and 16 years for the girls, which is again discriminatory in nature,” she said. Mubashir Zaidi, a senior journalist and an analyst, led a session on reporting on the issue of child marriages in the media in Pakistan. He discussed the issues, challenges and solutions to report on the issue of child marriages and to get them through for publishing or airing in print or electronic media in the country. Published in Daily Times, November 22nd 2017.