I remember the mother from Dadu, Sindh, whose age would barely be fifteen or sixteen. Her son was crying restlessly in her lap. The son was being comforted by the mother, not herself. In her pink traditional attire, she couldn't understand how to quiet her few-month-old baby.
On one side of the courtyard, an international donor was explaining about his project, how it had equipped the household with machinery, promising better financial conditions for the family. I had a camera in my hand, intending to capture images of the women, but the crying of a child diverted my attention.
According to the mother, the child was crying due to hunger. I thought the girl wanted to feed her child and perhaps felt embarrassed because of me. I said it's okay, I'll turn the other way while she nurses. But tears welled up in the mother's eyes, indicating that there was no milk in her chest to feed the baby. I asked if she had informed any doctor or midwife. She said there was no doctor or such assistance available, and the baby was born at home. If there's nothing to eat, how can there be any milk?
Whenever I think about child marriage, two girls always come to my mind. One, a young mother, was playfully tossing her baby boy in the air because he had come into this world after three daughters. The other was a mother distressed by her child's hunger. Seeing them, the first thought that crosses my mind is why do we make girls mothers so early?
We all know that Pakistan is one of the countries in South Asia where early marriages are common. According to UNICEF data, the highest percentage of early marriages is in Bangladesh with 51%, while it's as low as 2% in Maldives. Afghanistan stands at 28% and India at 27%. However, in Pakistan, this number is 18%.
UNICEF's data also indicates that marriages of children under 15 years old are conducted in Pakistan, with a rate of 2% for boys and up to 3.6% for girls. Similarly, marriages of girls under 18 years old account for 18.3%, and for boys under 18, it's 4.7%. These figures were mentioned to estimate at what young age early marriages are happening in our country.
A positive aspect according to UNICEF data is that there's a notable difference in the numbers of early marriages in Sindh between 2014 and 2019. The biggest difference occurred in Tando Muhammad Khan, where the number dropped from 48 to 14. Following that is Larkana, where the number decreased from 37 to 21. The data also reveals that in some places, there's only a slight difference in numbers, such as in Karachi East, where it dropped from 22 to 21, and in District Central, where early marriages decreased from 14 to 13. Similarly, there's also a slight difference in Jacobabad and Sanghar.
We have pondered upon what might be the biggest reason for child marriage or prevalent early marriages in Pakistan. Let's analyze the fundamental factors contributing to this issue. Lack of education, economic conditions, and the perception of daughters as a burden have exacerbated this problem. However, if compulsory education is enforced, surely other factors will also improve.
According to the latest Population Census Department 2020, there were 1,115,687 married girls in Pakistan, whereas this number was 301,741 for boys. According to statistics, 5254 underage boys and 21,654 underage girls were married off. Now you can estimate the direction this situation has taken today. That is, due to crises like COVID, floods, and environmental changes, which brought about economic crises, parents might have thought of alleviating their burdens by marrying off their underage daughters.
As far as my observation goes, the biggest reason for this is the lack of education in our country, which impacts every household in Pakistan, whether they reside in a city or a village. We have enacted better legislation to curb child marriage, but we are unable to provide basic education to our children. According to Article 25-A of the Constitution, it is the responsibility of the Government of Pakistan to provide free basic education to every Pakistani child up to the age of 16.
The right to basic education was granted to every Pakistani in 2010, but the government hasn't fulfilled its responsibility adequately. The situation of providing education to urban areas can be understood from the report of the Population Census Department 2020, which states that only 69.1% of boys and 53.44% of girls attend school, while only 17.84% of boys and 15.38% of girls couldn't go beyond primary education. Imagine, even in 2020, only 2.35% of our population's boys and 2% of girls were obtaining higher education.
We understand that every parent wants their children to study and achieve high positions, but the figures tell a different story. What could be the reason that we don't pay attention to education as we should? The first and simple reason is that the government's allocated budget for education is only 3.55%, which indicates the government's seriousness towards education.
We know that we have the highest number of youth in the world. If our children are deprived of education, they will lack better thinking and actions in whatever field they pursue. They will make decisions with limited understanding, as thoughts and attitudes don't change overnight. If we want to eliminate societal and social issues like child labor and early marriages from our society, we need to continuously discuss these aspects along with better legislation.
If your children, especially girls, receive basic education, such as matriculation or intermediate, their entire lives can be improved. They will not only become better mothers but also contribute to better upbringing of their children. Education can not only prevent early marriages but also redirect thoughts and attitudes towards a better direction.
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