2. Legal and Social Review of Child Marriage in Pakistan: A Judicial Perspective
پاکستان میں کم عمری کی شادی کا قانونی و سماجی جائزہ: عدالتی تناظر
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.53575/u2.v6.02(22).12-18Keywords:
Marriage, Child Marriage, FST, IHC, PakistanAbstract
Child marriage in Pakistan is associated with social, economic, and juridical aspects rather than mere religion. It is an exception to general Islamic law for the best interests of the child. The determination of the legal age of marriage for a child is discussed, but no efficient steps are taken in Pakistan. Marriage is still regulated by an old ambiguous colonial law. Furthermore, penal amendments are introduced with zero implementation. Although child marriage is covered by penal clauses, the courts recognise such marital contracts. Recently, FST (Federal Shariat Court) and IHC (Islamabad High Court) discussed this matter in detail and equalised child marriage as a crime clearly. These courts confirmed the determination of the legal age for marriage according to sharia. Moreover, several contemporary legal principles of Islamic jurisprudence are stressed on this issue. It is highlighted to examine child marriage in the context of social and public interest. The research at hand will review child marriage in the juridical context of the courts. It will denote the social aspects of this issue. This article will analyse the latest judgments of FST and IHC.
References
Isfahani, Jamal al-Din Muhammad bin Mukarram, Mu'jam Mufradat Shabd-ul-Quran, Beirut: Dar Sadr, 526
Ibn Ashur, Tahir, Muqaddas al-Shari'ah al-Islamiyyah, (Beirut: Dar-ul-Kitab al-Labani, 2011), 139-273
The Qur'an, 21:4
Qarar-e-Haqq al-A'ila fi al-Nikaah al-Madani wa'l-Talaq, (Beirut: Dar ibn Hazm), Articles 4-12
Mufti, Muhammad Shafi, Ma'arif-ul-Quran, (Karachi: Idarat-ul-Ma'arif Karachi), 286/2
Ibn Hajar, Abu al-Fadl Ahmad bin Ali, Fath al-Bari, (Cairo: Al-Salfia, 2015), 154/9
Aini, Badr al-Din Abi Muhammad Mahmud bin Ahmad, Ummatul Qari, (Beirut: Dar-ul-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah), 110/2
Council of Islamic Ideology, Meeting No. 194
Section 2(a), The Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929
Ibid. Section 4-6
Section 2(vii), The Dissolution of Muslim Marriage Act, 1939
MLD 2000 Lahore, 1886
PLD 1957 Lahore, 651
PLD 1995 FSC1
Yilmaz, Ihsan. Muslim laws, politics and society in modern nation states: Dynamic legal pluralisms in England, Turkey and Pakistan (Aldershot, Hants, England: Ashgate Publishing Ltd., 2005), 135
Shariat Petition no 10/1.2020
P L D 2004 Supreme Court 219
PLD 1962 Karachi 442