The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government has decided to move forward with legislation aimed at curbing child marriages in the province.
The proposed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Child Marriage Restraint Bill 2019, which has remained pending for several years, will require approval from the provincial cabinet before being tabled in the KP Assembly.
Special Assistant to the Chief Minister for Population Welfare Tufail Anjum disclosed the development while chairing a meeting organized by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Peshawar.
He said the government would also introduce necessary measures to ensure the effective implementation of the legislation.
“Child marriage is an important social issue, and the government is taking effective measures to address it with the cooperation of all relevant institutions,” Anjum said.
KP continues to report a significant number of child marriage cases but has yet to introduce provincial legislation specifically designed to effectively address underage marriages.
According to the government’s Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health Project, launched in 10 of the province’s 38 districts in 2021, child brides face greater psychological trauma and reproductive health problems than women who marry at the age of 20 or above.
The project’s report identified depression, difficulty adjusting to marriage, anxiety, miscarriages, poor health, medical complications and iron deficiency as common problems among child marriage couples, particularly girls.
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