Pakistan senate: Increasing legal marriageable age of girls from 16 to 18 is un-Islamic

Senate of Pakistan has pounded a legislation governing the minimum age girls can marry, saying a Bill to increase the legal age from 16 to 18 was un-Islamic.

The chairman of the Senate Standing Committee, Rehman Malik, cited advice from religious scholars as reasons why he thought the committee should reject the Bill.

Rehman Malik said the bill, which suggests increasing the minimum age for girls to marry from 16 to 18, was contrary to Islamic injunctions.

"I have also discussed it with religious scholars and they also believe that girls can be married before the age of 18 according to Islam, so these kinds of bills cannot be passed," RT quoted Rehamn.

The bill was rejected as the mover of the bill Senator Sehar Kamran was not present. The lawmaker Sehar Kamran is driving the proposal.

However, in a statement posted to Twitter following the vote, a spokesperson for Malik said the committee plans to reconsider the Bill and would seek further advice from "representatives of NGOs on Human Rights and Women's Rights and renowned scholars of the country".

The bill will be reconsidered after getting opinions of CII and NGOs pic.twitter.com/pTh1xlto5w- Hira Akbar (@hiraakbar1) October 12, 2017

It was quick for Rehman Malik to receive criticism over his comments by saying that the matter "belongs to religious affairs".

This matter belongs to relgious affairs and since the house has shown faith in this committee hence we will involveother stake holders too https://t.co/jHMfBKnc3z- Senator Rehman Malik (@SenRehmanMalik) October 12, 2017

Sehar Kamran said that Pakistani citizens are not issued driving licenses before the age of 18 and they are also not allowed to vote. Then how can they be allowed to marry before that.

"Girls as young as 10 are being married off in Pakistan even though the legal minimum age for getting married is 16 and this is because they do not get their CNICs (Computerized National Identity Card) made. That is why I suggested the minimum age for getting married be raised to 18," Dawn quoted Sehar.

"If the government thinks 16-year-old girls are adults, they should also be issued driving licenses and allowed to cast votes," Sehar said.

Sehar posted a copy of the Bill online prior to the vote on Wednesday. The mission statement outlined the pressure on child brides to bear children.

"In developing countries, the leading cause of death for young girls between the age of 15 and 18 is early pregnancy," the Bill read, adding that the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child suggests the minimum age for marriage should be 18.

I proposed 18 years as a minimum age of marriage, it is in accordance with UN convention on Child Rights. pic.twitter.com/Hb1cmfHi97- Senator Sehar Kamran (@SeharKamran) October 11, 2017

According to a media report, in February this year, Pakistan's Parliament sought to toughen the punishment for child marriage by introducing a mandatory five-year prison sentence and fine for those caught marrying any girl under the age of 16.