You're considered "un-Islamic" in Pakistan if you don't allow young girls to marry. Once again, efforts have failed to prevent girls younger than 18 from walking down the aisle and saying their "I do's."
A recent bill introduced in Pakistan's Parliament would have raised the current age of consent from 16 to 18. But the Council of Islamic Ideology has again ruled that approval of such a law in Pakistan would be against Islamic law, or "blasphemous."
Parliamentarians were forced to withdraw the proposed legislation because Islamic law allows--and sometimes even encourages arranged and forced marriages for little girls. The Pakistani government officially prohibits girls younger than 16 from marrying, still many young Pakistani females--perhaps at least 20 percent--are marrying before they turn 18.
A similar law was rejected in 2014 when the Council, which advises the Parliament on Sharia-compliant matters, reaffirmed that girls as young as 9 years old could be married as long as "signs of puberty are visible."
Girls Not Brides is committed to ending child marriages worldwide by 2030. While the international organization noted some successes in 2015, it acknowledges that progress in Muslim countries like Indonesia have been slow.
Several years ago, my colleague George Thomas investigated arranged child marriages in India. If you missed his report, take a look here.
Human rights groups are calling on Western governments to keep pressuring Islamic nations and other countries to reform archaic marriage laws that prevent little girls from enjoying their childhood.
Isn't it time they be allowed to play with dolls instead of "playing house" with men who are old enough to be their fathers and grandfathers?