Ban on child marriage is deemed 'un-Islamic' by Pakistan's religious leaders
Pakistan's government last week passed the Child Marriage Restraint Bill, which aims to put an end to minors being forced into marriages and cohabitation with adults.
The legislation, set to be signed into effect by President Asif Ali Zardari, will see adults found to be cohabiting with minors punished by up to seven years in a prison and a fine of one million rupees (£2,663) on charges of statutory rape.
It is set to roll out in the Pakistani capital Islamabad, with hopes that other parts of the country will introduce the law in short order.
But Pakistan's Council of Islamic Ideology - a prominent body that advises the government of the Muslim majority nation 'whether or not a certain law is repugnant to Islam' - has opposed the bill.
The council said in a statement published Tuesday: 'Declaring marriage below the age of eighteen as child abuse and prescribing punishments for it, and other controversial provisions, are not in line with Islamic injunctions.
'Overall, the Council rejected the bill. It also clarified that this bill was not sent to the Council for review by the Parliament or the Senate.
'Marriage should be protected from unnecessary legal complications, and a public awareness campaign in this regard could prove more effective,' it argued.
The bill was passed after several female politicians who were married off as minors shared their personal support.
Pakistan ranks among the top 10 countries with the highest absolute number of women who were married before the age of 18 - more than 20 million.
Data compiled by activist group Girls Not Brides and Pakistan's National Institute of Population Studies suggest nearly 1 in 5 women in Pakistan (18%) are married before the age of 18, and 4% before the age of 15.
Researchers and activists point to a range of factors contributing to Pakistan's soaring child marriage rate, including religion, long-entrenched societal and gender norms.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...aders.html
Pakistan's government last week passed the Child Marriage Restraint Bill, which aims to put an end to minors being forced into marriages and cohabitation with adults.
The legislation, set to be signed into effect by President Asif Ali Zardari, will see adults found to be cohabiting with minors punished by up to seven years in a prison and a fine of one million rupees (£2,663) on charges of statutory rape.
It is set to roll out in the Pakistani capital Islamabad, with hopes that other parts of the country will introduce the law in short order.
But Pakistan's Council of Islamic Ideology - a prominent body that advises the government of the Muslim majority nation 'whether or not a certain law is repugnant to Islam' - has opposed the bill.
The council said in a statement published Tuesday: 'Declaring marriage below the age of eighteen as child abuse and prescribing punishments for it, and other controversial provisions, are not in line with Islamic injunctions.
'Overall, the Council rejected the bill. It also clarified that this bill was not sent to the Council for review by the Parliament or the Senate.
'Marriage should be protected from unnecessary legal complications, and a public awareness campaign in this regard could prove more effective,' it argued.
The bill was passed after several female politicians who were married off as minors shared their personal support.
Pakistan ranks among the top 10 countries with the highest absolute number of women who were married before the age of 18 - more than 20 million.
Data compiled by activist group Girls Not Brides and Pakistan's National Institute of Population Studies suggest nearly 1 in 5 women in Pakistan (18%) are married before the age of 18, and 4% before the age of 15.
Researchers and activists point to a range of factors contributing to Pakistan's soaring child marriage rate, including religion, long-entrenched societal and gender norms.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...aders.html
teachings of the Bible are so muddled and self-contradictory that it was possible for Christians to happily burn heretics alive for five long centuries. It was even possible for the most venerated patriarchs of the Church, like St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, to conclude that heretics should be tortured (Augustine) or killed outright (Aquinas). Martin Luther and John Calvin advocated the wholesale murder of heretics, apostates, Jews, and witches. - Sam Harris, "Letter To A Christian Nation"
