Pakistan Marriage-Age Law Praised by UN Panel

The Pakistan marriage-age law won praise from a United Nations panel on Wednesday, when the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights welcomed the 2025 amendment that raised the minimum age of marriage to 18. The panel concluded its review of Pakistan’s second periodic report under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in Geneva, and it pressed the Pakistani delegation on bonded labour, child brides and flood recovery at the same time.

Committee expert Michael Windfuhr welcomed the amendment to the Child Marriage Restraint Act 1929, which set the minimum age at 18 for both males and females. He said the committee still had concerns about the high number of child brides, and he asked what effect the measures to prevent child marriage had produced so far. That question goes to the heart of the review, because a law on paper and a change in practice are two different tests.

What the panel welcomed, and what it questioned

Barrister Aqeel Malik, the Minister of State for Law and Justice, led the Pakistani delegation. He told the committee that Pakistan had taken a range of legislative, policy and institutional measures since 2017 to advance the rights in the covenant. He said child marriage restraint laws had set the minimum age at 18 for both boys and girls in Islamabad, Balochistan, Punjab and Sindh, and had criminalised child, early and forced marriages.

The delegation also told the panel that Pakistan’s Constitution prohibited slavery and all forms of forced labour, and that the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act 1992 had abolished the practice. Committee expert Lazhari Bouzid said bonded labour continued to be prevalent in agriculture and was also found in the informal sector, particularly brick making. He said construction companies and government agencies were reportedly complicit in the practice by buying bricks produced through debt bondage, and he asked how Pakistan had responded to those reports.

Flood recovery and the rebuilding gap

Windfuhr also asked how Pakistan had coped with the devastating floods of 2022 and 2025. He asked whether the country could rebuild housing for affected people, restore their access to land or resources, and say how many people remained displaced. The delegation said the government had set up a national emergency operations centre for high-risk areas and had launched a national flood protection programme.

That programme aimed to protect people at risk, eight million acres of agricultural land and 2.2 million housing units, the delegation said. Each province was also carrying out its own flood protection measures. Of the 2.1 million homes destroyed in the 2022 floods, 600,000 had been rebuilt, while work on the remaining houses was under way. In plain terms, more than 1.5 million homes from that single disaster still awaited rebuilding at the time of the review, which explains why the committee kept returning to reconstruction.

Why the Pakistan marriage-age law gap matters

Committee expert Julieta Rossi, who led the task force for Pakistan, said in her closing remarks that the delegation had outlined processes for putting economic, social and cultural rights into practice, along with the large challenges facing the country and the gaps between legislative progress and implementation. She said that information would appear in the committee’s concluding observations, which the panel hoped Pakistan would put into practice in good faith.

Malik said in his own closing remarks that the delegation had described efforts to bridge the gaps between constitutional guarantees and their realisation. He said the country’s trajectory was toward the progressive realisation of covenant rights, and that Pakistan had made considerable progress since its first review, despite constraints and challenges. He added that Pakistan hoped the committee’s candour and rigour would help pave the way for the full realisation of those rights.

Feature Pakistan has followed the child protection debate closely, including a report on child protection and online safety and a Sindh case in which the opposition sought a probe into cases involving minor girls. The Dawn report on the Geneva review gives the full account of the committee’s questions and the delegation’s replies.

Frequently asked questions

What did the UN panel praise about the Pakistan marriage-age law?

The panel welcomed the 2025 amendment to the Child Marriage Restraint Act 1929, which raised the minimum age of marriage to 18 for both males and females.

Where does the minimum age of 18 apply?

The Pakistani delegation said the minimum age of 18 for both boys and girls applied in Islamabad, Balochistan, Punjab and Sindh, and that child, early and forced marriages had been criminalised.

What did the panel raise about bonded labour?

Committee expert Lazhari Bouzid said bonded labour remained prevalent in agriculture and in brick making, and he asked how Pakistan had responded to reports that construction firms and government agencies bought bricks made through debt bondage.

How many flood homes have been rebuilt?

The delegation said 600,000 of the 2.1 million homes destroyed in the 2022 floods had been rebuilt, with reconstruction of the remaining homes under way.

What happens next after the review?

The committee will set out its findings in concluding observations, which it hopes Pakistan will implement in good faith before the next review.