Child marriage is a crime in Pakistan. It constitutes one of the worst forms of sexual violence and exploitation against children. It relies on poverty, patriarchy, socio-economic inequalities and a distorted/ill-informed religious narrative.
Most of the victims of child marriage are girls. Child marriage has short, mid and long-term, disastrous, physical, psychological and economic consequences for children and the society in general. Child marriage is also linked to child trafficking, child sexual and commercial exploitation. It perpetuates the cycle of poverty and violence and deprives children of their childhood and dignity. Child marriage has been labelled by the Organization for the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) as a harmful traditional practice.