National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW) in collaboration with its development partners UNICEF, UNFPA, UN Women, FCDO and UKAid commenced a two-day National Stakeholders’ Conference on Ending Child Marriage today in Islamabad. It was held in connection with international Girl Child Day, October 11. Objective of this conference was to build a national framework on Ending Child Marriage after reviewing the inputs from all relevant stakeholders. Following the National Consultation, partners will conduct provincial consultations to discuss at length the action plans during this conference. Representatives from UN agencies, provincial departments, eminent policy experts, human rights activists, medical experts, dignitaries, members from civil society and people from all walks of life attended this conference. In her opening remarks Chairperson NCSW Ms. Nilofar Bakhtiar stated that it was a misfortune that the bill restraining child marriage in the country moved almost six times in the legislature but could not get through. This bill promises the right to education and health of every young girl but became a failure of our institutions. She said that it was a tragedy that millions of girls were out of school in Pakistan due to prevailing social and economic circumstances. They deserved a right kind of atmosphere and right kind of support from their family and society. The biggest irony was the difference in legal age for marriage in all four provinces, demanding an immediate attention from policy makers and implementers. She further said that she had strong faith in civil society; when they stood together, things got happened. She pledged to take forward the agenda of ending child marriage- a menace that is badly affecting many generation- with all her supporting hands to break heinous cycle of discrimination. At this occasion Ms. Laktika Maskey Pardhan, Deputy Country Rep of UNFPA said that adolescent fertility rate in Pakistan was high at 46 per 1,000 adolescent girls aged 15-19. The primary school dropout rate was 22.7 per cent, which was one of the highest in the region where 32% of married adolescents (15-19 years of age) experienced gender-based violence. She added that the overall need for this framework was to ensure that proactive measures were put in place that were comprehensive and holistic to prevent and eliminate and respond to child marriage, thereby enabling all children to realize full childhood development and the necessary protections. For that a targeted, collective approach was the only solution to move forward. During her speech, Ms. Daniela Luciana, Chief Child Protection UNICEF observed that leadership and commitment to enacting policies and enforcing laws that protect children were crucial. There was a need of robust legal framework that not only prohibits child marriage but also ensures accountability for those who violate these laws. While speaking at the conference, Deputy Country Rep UN Women Mr. Franklin Okumu said that beyond individuals, families and communities, child marriage had high economic cost. A national costing study by NCSW and UN Women found that total cost of child Marriage in Pakistan is $ .8 billion or 0.42% of GDP. Child brides were deprived of their fundamental rights to health including life itself. Globally complications in pregnancy and childbirth were the leading cause of deaths in girls aged 15-19. He ended his remarks by uttering strong words, “Please don’t mess with my baby girl”. Next to him, special guest Ms. Jo Moir Development Director FCDO in her closing remarks said that child marriage was a harmful practice with severe consequences that impact generations and impede equality. A National Framework on Ending Child Marriage was essential to bring together the federal and provincial stakeholders. Without coordination between institutions and stakeholders, it was hard to build a shared narrative on this issue and overcome social and political resistance to raising the age of marriage. She further said that the timing of this piece of work was opportune as it would lay the ground for securing the support of new government after elections to advance reforms. Later, a girl child Malaika Arif, student of grade nine in a government school shared her thoughts and dreams with the audience. She presented that how she desired to fulfill her ambitions with hard work, innovative ideas and distinctive colors but social patterns and mind sets might become a hindrance in the way of her dreams to be realized. Afterwards, a proposed framework was presented with suggestions to implement in different areas that was followed by detailed discussion on health and social consequences of child marriage and ended with an outcome that changing minds, social and behavioral perspective was as essential as legislation in Pakistani society. And it was the only tangible solution to end child marriage in the country.
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