The Sindh Child Marriage Restraint Act 2013
The Sindh Assembly is the first assembly in Pakistan where a a bill of this kind is passed. According to "The Sindh Child Marriage Restraint Act 2013", in cases of underage marriage the Bride, Groom and parents can all be sentenced to three years in prison and can be fined with Rs. 45,000.
Sindh Minister for Culture Sharmila Farooqi presented this bill in Sind Assembly and an eight member committee took part in prepration of its drafts with the consultation with stakeholders. The legislation cover child marriage, harassment of women, honour killings and acid attacks.
We have history of the first such bill, Sindh Law department’s additional secretary Aslam Shaikh had told that a bill was introduced in 1929 and the age of a girl for marriage was fixed at 14 years. He had said that with an amendment, the age limit was made 16 in 1965. The enforced Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929 awards three-month maximum imprisonment and Rs1,000 fine.
