LEGAL PERSPECTIVE OF CHILD MARRIAGES IN PAKISTAN

Abstract

In Pakistan, child marriage has become a dominant socio-legal problem, with both traditional customs and legal loopholes typically constrained. Although statutory laws existed in the form of the Child Marriage Restraint Act 1929, which later gave way to provincial enactments, cultural practices, poor institutional arrangements, and mixed reading of religious edicts remain tough nuts to crack. This paper aims to perform a systematical review of the understanding of child marriages in a legal sense in Pakistan through reviewing the historical, theoretical, and development of the core child marriage laws in Pakistan. It also examines prevailing resolutions to implementation, such as judicial confusion and lack of implementation, and resistance. Reform options, including harmonization of national and provincial laws, development of institutional responsibility, awareness campaigns, etc., are also addressed. At the end of the study, the proposed strategies to address the problem of child marriages by engaging in legal measures, changing the policy, and involving communities are proposed in order to bring harmony between the distinctions of legislative aspects in Pakistan with what global humanitarian organizations are willing to enhance in reference to the commitments to the interests of every citizen.