Finally, the Senate of Pakistan has passed the Christian Marriage Act 1872 amendment bill. It will be sent back to the National Assembly for discussion, and if it is not sent for discussion, it will not be able to take the form of an amendment act until the President gives his approval. The Christian Marriage Act should have been amended, but whenever an attempt has been made to amend it, it has not been successful. More than 76 years have passed since the British left here, but the Christian marriage made by the British is still in Pakistan. The Marriage Act 1872 is in force, and some members of the Christian community regard it as a divine law, which has led to opposition from some quarters of the Christian community whenever there is talk of amending the Act.
“People who are familiar with the law say that the prevailing Christian Marriage Act is not only depriving basic rights, but it is also promoting early marriages,” says the well-known Christian lawyer, Advocate Shahid Anwar. When this law was made, it may have been compatible with the conditions of the time, but it is not in accordance with the current times and conditions. According to this act, no marriage can take place after sunset, while in the present era, most marriages take place in the evening. “According to this act, only marriages in the church should be considered valid, but nowadays marriages are performed in hotels, marriage halls, and marquees,” says Advocate Shahid Anwar.
The major flaw in this law is that it encourages early marriages because, under the Christian Marriage Act of 1872, the age of marriage for a Christian man is 16 years and for a woman is 13 years. In the Punjab Child Marriage Act 2016, the age of marriage for a girl has been fixed at 16 years and for a boy at 18 years, due to which the marriage of a young girl is not possible, but despite this, marriages of young girls are carried out with the help of the Christian Marriage Act. and there are complaints in this regard, “In rural areas, Christian couples still shy away from registering marriages at the official level, so the pastors there do not give much importance to determining the age at the time of marriage” while marrying younger girls.
Aspirants also argue that because of this act, when the law allows the marriage of a girl below the age of 16 and her family members also agree, then no one should object to it. Aksha Kanwal belongs to the Christian community, which is active in protecting the rights of minorities. Christian marriages are taking place since, if it is seen in the context of the Christian Marriage Act, these marriages will feel illegal because nowadays most of the marriages take place at night while the tradition of marriage within the church is also decreasing, but the Christian Act It is written that marriages before sunset and inside the church will be considered legal. Sunil Malik is associated with the Centre for Social Justice and is involved in the struggle for the rights of minorities.
Sunil Malik says that changing the Marriage Act according to the situation is inevitable, for which several attempts have been made, but every time it is obstructed by the powerful circles, due to which the amendment cannot be made. He said that even in the year 2019, a Christian A bill to amend the Marriage Act was presented in the Assembly, which could not be approved by the Assembly, but the Cabinet approved it. Pastor Shimon Masih says that if the Christian Marriage Act needs to be amended, then church leadership and religious leaders should be consulted so that there is no religious ambiguity for the amendment.
