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 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 labeled by the Organization for the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) as a harmful traditional practice.

• Please click on the link below to read the research reports conducted by GDP on Child Marriage in Islam and Family Planning.

1. Soft Launch of Dastak in Karachi.

‘Dastak’ - a web movie – by young artists launched with Pakistani youth, state actors and CSOs to increase the social disapproval of early and forced marriage in Pakistan. Taking meaningful and affirmative action to counter child marriage, Group Development Pakistan partnered with Sindh Commission on the Status of Women (SCSW) and Slugline Films, to apply a creative child participatory approach to end child marriage.

• Click on the link below to watch the trailer of Dastak:

Videos