Early Child Marriage and Denial of Girls Education
Early Child Marriage and Denial of Girls Education
According to UNICEF, 21 percent
of girls in Pakistani are married
before they reach the age of 18,
while 3 percent are married
before the age of 15
Under the UN Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs),
Pakistan has pledged to bring an
end to the practice of marriage
before age 18 by 2030.
Child marriage as a practice is motivated by gender disparity and the
traditional obsolete belief that girls are inferior to boys. In Pakistan also, child
marriage is driven by
21% < 18 years
3% < 15 years
2030
Swara
Watta Satta
Pait Likkhi
In Swara, girls are married off in
order to resolve feuds in rural
communities under compulsion
of a local council otherwise
known as “panchayat”
Watta Satta is the
bartering for brides
Pait Likkhi is the
betrothing of girls
before they are
born or very young
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cpgs_org
Gender norms are deeply rooted
patriarchal customs of old Times
that continue to drive child
marriage. For instance girls who
marry late are labelled as
bringing shame for “deviating”
from tradition.
Approximately 22.5 million
children in Pakistan are out of
school. Out of this, 53 percent
are girls.
Nearly
13 million
girls
are out of school in Pakistan
<
Family practices: Within family
(or tribe) marriages are a
common in Pakistan. Due to
which about 34% of married
16-17 year old girls, are known
to be to first cousins.
34%
Cousin Marriages
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Denial of Girls Education
22.5
million uneducated
children
53%
girls!
SCHOOL
About 21 percent of girls in
Pakistan get married after
finishing secondary school, and
by 9th grade only 13 percent
girls are still in school.
A report last year from the
seven new districts (former
Fata) of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
portrayed alarming picture of
girls’ education in KP. About 79
percent of girls drop out from
school in the early years, and 50
percent drop out in the middle
and secondary years.
• Article 25-A of the Constitution of
Islamic Republic of Pakistan clearly
states that; “The State shall provide
free and compulsory education to all
children of the age of five to sixteen
years in such manner as may be
determined by law.”
• Pakistan’s expenditure on
education as percentage to GDP stands
at 2.4 percent in fiscal year 2018-19,
the lowest in the region. Pakistan has to
spend more on education on the levels
recommended by the UNESCO in order
to fulfill the commitment of SDG4
Remedies
21%
after secondary school
21%
after secondary school
79%
girls drop out from school
The State
shall provide
free and
compulsory education
to all children
of the age of five
to sixteen years y
in such manner
as may be
determined by law
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web: www.cpakgulf.org
Research by: Siffat Ali – Research Associate
Designed by: Fatima Sureyya – Web/Graphic Designer