HRFP President raises alarm over child, forced marriages in Pakistan at UN rights council
HRFP President Naveed Walter warns UN about child and forced marriages in Pakistan, demanding stronger law enforcement and age verification.
Naveed Walter, President of Human Rights Focus Pakistan (HRFP), has issued a stark warning regarding the prevalence of child and forced marriages in Pakistan during the 63rd Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva. Addressing the international forum, Walter emphasized the urgent need for the consistent enforcement of existing child-marriage laws to protect vulnerable children.
Legislative Progress vs. Implementation Reality
While acknowledging recent legislative milestones, Walter noted that the effectiveness of these laws remains under scrutiny. He highlighted recent efforts to establish 18 as the minimum legal marriage age for both boys and girls, alongside the Punjab Child Marriage Restraint Act, 2026. However, he warned that these legal frameworks are facing significant challenges.
“Pakistan has made important changes in legislation,” Walter stated. “But these laws are now being tested, as religious parties have challenged them on the grounds that they are contrary to the Holy Quran and Sunnah.”
He argued that the true measure of success for these laws lies in whether judicial and public institutions can consistently protect children, rather than just having the laws written on paper.
Legal Conflicts and Documentation Issues
A major point of concern raised at the UN Council was the legal uncertainty surrounding marriages involving minors. Walter pointed out a growing tension between statutory child-marriage protections and various interpretations of personal or religious laws. He noted that courts have sometimes adopted divergent approaches, particularly when determining a girl's age.
The discussion highlighted how official documentation, such as NADRA records, plays a critical role in these proceedings, yet conflicts arise when judges use Sharia principles and classical Islamic legal thought to define puberty rather than relying on chronological age.
The Scale of the Crisis
Citing data from UNICEF, Walter noted that Pakistan is home to one of the world's largest populations of child brides, with millions of women married before the age of 18. He cautioned against underestimating the problem, noting that the number of cases appearing in media reports or court filings likely represents only a fraction of the actual scale of the issue.
“The laws existed; they were simply ignored. The challenge now is enforcement,” he remarked.
Demands for Reform and International Oversight
To combat this systemic issue, Walter proposed several mandatory measures for Pakistani authorities:
- Mandatory Age Verification: Requiring CNIC, B-Form, and NADRA records before any marriage registration.
- Data Transparency: Annual nationwide publication of enforcement data, including FIRs, prosecutions, and convictions.
- Legal Harmonization: Aligning personal and family laws to ensure children in coerced marriages have access to legal remedies.
Walter also called upon the UN Human Rights Council and its Member States to address these issues during Pakistan’s human-rights review processes. He posed a direct question to the international community to demand an answer from Pakistan: “How will you resolve the conflict between ‘puberty’ and ‘eighteen’ in your courts?”
He further advocated for monitoring enforcement through international mechanisms, such as GSP+, using measurable indicators like the number of marriages prevented from registration and successful prosecutions.
Concluding his address, Walter reaffirmed HRFP's commitment to documenting these violations, stating, “Pakistan's written laws now need defenders in the courts, in the concerned departments, and in forums like this one.”