Daily Times

MPA Syed Abdul Rasheed is the man of the moment. For all the wrong reasons. The Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) lawmaker has come up with what he believes is both an innovative and pragmatic response to tackle pressing issues such as child rape. And he has submitted a draft proposal towards this end to show just how serious he is. Except that there is no talk of sensitising the police or empowering children to recognise what is and what is not adult appropriate behaviour. The memory of little Zainab all but forgotten.

The answer, according to Rasheed, lies in the Sindh Compulsory Marriage Act, 2021. And it seeks to do what the title suggests: making marriage a legal requirement across the province. But, there’s more. The parents of any adult who remains unmarried after turning 18 will have to “submit an undertaking with justified reason of delay before the Deputy Commissioner of the District” or else risk a Rs 500-fine.

We, here at Daily Times, don’t wish to get into the nitty-gritty logistics of the bill. It is of no import to raise questions about orphans or point out that, if enacted, such legislation would disadvantage the poor. Because to do so would lend the matter a legitimacy that it does not deserve.

Instead, we want to ask the PPP: are you ready for battle? For it is not enough that it has promised to defeat the bill in the Sindh Assembly. Talk is cheap. Backbone is what counts. Sadly, the provincial government doesn’t have good form on this front. This is not to dismiss PPP gains, such as the 2014 Sindh Child Marriage Restraint Act which set the minimum age for marriage at 18; while the Punjab allows marriage at 16. But it is to remind the party of the fate of the Sindh Criminal Law (Protection of Minorities) Bill 2016, aimed at criminalising forced conversions. Even thought this was passed by the provincial assembly — the power of the religious right proved enough to scupper it. It was the same story when the PPP tried their luck again in 2019. The clock is still ticking on a promised third attempt.

All of which has weakened the PPP hand. Thus defeating the controversial compulsory marriage act will require much gumption. As a first step, the the Sindh government would do well to forge alliances with parliamentarians that oppose the politics of the religious right. While owning up to previous missteps that saw it fail to protect minority communities with a pledge to do better. It must also back informed parliamentary debate and focus on how this ludicrous proposed legislation will, among other things, impede girls’ educational. This is a chance for the PPP to show what it’s made of. To demonstrate how its hold on power isn’t so tenuous that it is prone to willingly kowtow to the religious right without a second thought. Especially since the party still trades on false notions of a secular heritage. It’s now or never. *