Islamabad (HRNW) The National Assembly has passed a bill banning marriages of minors.
The bill has made it a criminal offense to register marriages of minors under the age of 18 and marriage registrars will be bound not to register marriages of minors.
Before marriage or registration, the presence of identity cards of both parties will be ensured. Marriage and registration without information will be punished with one year of imprisonment, a fine of 1 lakh rupees, or both.
According to the bill, marriage to a girl below the age of 18 will be a crime, which will also be fined. A punishment has been prescribed for marriage of a man above the age of 18 to a minor girl. Marriage to a minor girl will be punished with a minimum of 2 years and a maximum of 3 years of imprisonment.
The marriage of a minor shall be considered as rape of a minor, and the person who encourages or forces a minor to marry shall also be guilty of rape.
The punishment for the marriage of a minor shall be imprisonment for 5 to 7 years, a fine of Rs. 1 million, or both. The punishment for employing or sheltering a child for the purpose of marriage shall be imprisonment for 3 years and a fine.
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