Child marriage restraint act, 1929 pakistan lawyer. Lack of proper action by the government and overlooking. An act to restraint the solemnization of child marriages. It was obeyed in its breach more than in its observance. Handbook on the prohibition of child marriage act, 2006. Child marriage restraint act, 1929 has been revamped and the prohibition of child marriage act, 2006 has been enacted. The recently enacted child marriage restraint act of 2017 2017 cmra replaced an older piece of legislation from the colonial era, the child marriage restraint act of 1929 1929 cmra.
Amendment of child marriage restraint act, 1929 xix of 1929 12. Under consideration is making child marriage a punishable offense for girls married below 16 years of age, as opposed to the existing age of 18 years. Child marriage restraint act, 1929 sarda act overview. Jan 24, 2017 child marriage has technically been illegal in bangladesh since the adoption of the child marriage restraint act of 1929. An act to restrain the solemnization of child marriages.
At present the whole affairs is governed by child marriage restraint act 1929, the rephrased version of the sharda act. Pakistan child marrage restraint act abbaslawservices. This act repealed the thenexisting act, child marriage restraint act, 1929. On paper, child marriage has been illegal in bangladesh since the adoption of the child marriage restraint act of 1929. The act fixed the marriageable age for girls at 14 years and 18 years for boys. Challenging the child marriage restraint act in bangladesh. Xix of 1929, hereinafter referred to as the said act, in section 2 for paragraph a, the following. In december 1829 sati was declared illegal and abolished. Child marriages in pakistan the institute for social. It is popularly known as the sarda act after its sponsor, harbilas sarda. However, under a new bill passed in pakistani senate, the minimum age of marriage for female was increased to 18. These enactments will be described in the following section.
The objective of the act can be classified as prevention, protection, and prosecution of offenders. The child marriage restraint act, 1929 bathinda police. The child marriage restraint act, 1929, was enacted with a view to prevent child marriages, namely, a marriage to which either of the contracting parties is under a specified age. Analysis of child marriage restraint act 1929 racolb legal. In addition to being covered by the child marriage restraint act 1929, such marriages are also covered by section 310a of the ppc pakistan penal code 1860, and are liable to be imprisoned up to a term of seven years but not less than three years and liable to a fine of rs 500,000. Bangladesh sigi 2019 category very high 55% 83% 29%.
Nasira iqbal, member, law and justice commission of pakistan, has desired in her letter dated 23112006 that the commission may examine certain laws including the child marriage restraint act, 1929. The child marriage restraint act cmra, popularly known as the sharda act, was introduced with the objective to prohibit child marriages of girls below the age of 15 years and of boys below the age 18. Punjab marriage restraint amendment act 2015 punjab police. Child marriage in india history and current position. The child marriage restraint act, 1929, passed on 28 september 1929, in the imperial legislative council of india, fixed the age of marriage for girls at 14 years and boys at 18 years which was later amended to 18 for girls and 21 for boys.
Keywords child, child marriage, contracting party, minor. After section 12 of the child marriage restraint act, 1929 central act 19 of 1929, the following sections shall be inserted, namely. In british india, efforts were first made to control child marriage through the child marriage restraint act 1929. Amendment in the child marriage restraint act, 1929 justice r mrs. In 1978, the law was amended and raised the minimum age of marriage. It is a well known fact that child marriage has a specific gender dimension and the adverse effects of child marriage have a greater impact on a girl child. Child marriage act in india history, stats, prohibition and. Whereas it is expedient to restrain the solemnisation of child marriages. The object is to eliminate the special evil which had the potentialities of dangers to the life and health of a female child, who could not withstand the stress and strains of married life and to.
The child marriage restraint act of 1929 was the first piece of major social reform enacted by the legislative assembly that had been created in 1921. Bangladesh and the child marriage restraint act 2016. Although it was a step in the right direction, certain sections in the act made it hard to take strict action against child marriage. In 1978, the law was amended to raise the minimum age of marriage.
In 1978, the law was amended to make it more effective and raise the minimum age of marriage by three years i. After repealing the child marriage restraint act of 1929, a new indian law was set in place called the prohibition of c hild marriage act. It was a result of social reform movement in india. The child marriage restraint act, 19291 1st october, 1929 an act to restrain the solemnization of child marriages whereas it is expedient to restrain the solemnization of child marriages. The child marriage restraint amendment act 1978 has also raised the age of marriage of girl to eighteen. Child marriage restraint act 1929 the first act was proposed in 1929, going by the name of child marriage restraint act, 1929, and was directed towards the entire pakistani population. It came into effect from 1 november 2007, replacing the child marriage restraint act cmra of 1929 or sharda act. After noting the changes to the child marriage restraint act, 1929 with reference to the age of marriage and age of consent for sexual inter course and judgments which have upheld child marriage through the years the report recommends that child marriage below 18 for both girls and boys should be prohibited and that marriages below the age of. In others the girls are childrenminors who are married off to much older men, or sometimes even sold into marriage. Power of court to issue injunction prohibiting child marriages.
However, despite the law, child marriages continued to take place. Within the national legal framework of bangladesh, the child marriage restraint act, 1929 cmra 2 is the main law concerning child marriage and the obligations of persons 1 united nations childrens fund unicef, early marriage in south asia. Amendment of the dissolution of muslim marriages act. This new act is armed with enabling provisions to prohibit child marriage. To eradicate the evil of child marriage, the child marriage restraint act was passed in 1929. Make appropriate amendments in the dissolution of muslim marriages act 1939. Nov 15, 20 child marriage is an ageold practice that has both social and religious sanction and cuts across all sections of society. Amend the child marriage restraint amendment act, 1929 to legislate equal minimum age of marriage for males and females at 18 years and remove the anomalies in the law as well as the practice of forced young age marriages. It is illegal for girls below the age of 18 years and boys below the age of 21 years to marry.
The child marriage restraint act was a legislative act passed on 28 september 1929. A new generation of indian politicians were able to use the means given to them through the 1919 montaguchelmsford reforms to debate and pass legislation on matters that directly concerned them. In february 2017, the parliament adopted a controversial revision of. Marriage restraint act, 2014, to replace the earlier child marriage restraint act, 1929. This 2007 law provides additional protections against child marriage and increases punishments for offenders malhotra et al. It is popularly known as the sharda act, after its sponsor harbilas sharda. Under the act, the minimum age for marriage was 18 years for a male and 16 years for a female section 2. A member provincial assembly punjab committed to table the punjab child marriage restraint. This law was amended in 1978, wherein the legal age of marriage of girls was raised from 15 to 18 years. It would be seen that the child marriage restraint act only restrains a marriage of minors and that is its. This act may be called the child marriage restraint act, 1929. In this act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context, 2 a child. Bangladesh has the fourthhighest rate of child marriage before age 18in the world.
Child marriage in pakistan is legally prohibited to an extent under the child marriage restraint act 1929 no xix. The child marriage restraint act, 1929, india child marriage, early. Child marriage restraint act 1929 to was passed to prevent child marriage. In the child marriage restraint act, 1929, 1 in section 2, a in clause a, for the word fourteen the word sixteen shall be substituted. In 1978 the marriageable age for girls and boys was increased to 18 and 21 years respectively. The amended law came to be known as the child marriage restraint act, 1929. Jul 15, 2019 afterwards, the punjab government enacted the child marriage restraint amendment act, 2015, in march 2015, but instead of repealing the cmra 1929 it made several amendments to that law. The above mentioned facts and analysis were an independent study into the nature of the act and its shortcomings and the study was not related with the british mentality. Under the child marriage restraint act, 1929, a male above the age of 25 years marrying a girl below 15 years is punishable with upto 3 months imprisonment and is also liable to fine. Child marriage has been illegal in bangladesh since 1929, and the minimum age of marriage has been set at 18 for women and 21 for men since the 1980s. Certificate course on legal provisions for the protection of women other.
The prohibition of child marriages act was introduced in 2006 to address the weaknesses inherent in the former legislations. In this act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context. The child marriage restraint act, 1929 an act to restrain the solemnisation of child marriages. Amendment of child marriage restraint act, 1929 xix of 1929 omitted. Thus, there was apparent conflict on the question whether for the purpose of computing the period of limitation under section 468 of the code of criminal procedure, 1973 for short the cr. Much later, the prohibition of child marriage act, 2006 repealed the earlier act and declared such marriages to be voidable. Child marriage in bangladesh is governed by a series of laws. Table year age of age minimum consent mentioned age of under s. The current law that addresses child marriage is the child marriage restraint act, 2017 cmra repealing the earlier british law of 1929. Ishita pandes innovative study provides a dual biography of indias pathbreaking child marriage restraint act 1929 and of age itself as a key category of identity for upholding the rule of law, and for governing intimate life in late colonial india. Child marriage restraint national assembly of pakistan. Dec 17, 2019 the sharda act, 1929 increased marriageable age of males and females.
Child marriage is a wideranging problem in bangladesh. Pdf child marriage, society and the law biswajit ghosh. Later renamed as the child marriage restraint act cmra, 1929, it prohibited marriage of girls below the age of 15 years and boys below the age of 18. An act to provide for the prohibition of solemnisation of child marriages and for matters connected. Originally, the age limit for a male was eighteen years and for a female fourteen years. In 1856 the hindu widows marriage act was given some other legislation regarding women in matters of marriage, adoption and inheritance are. T 2 the state of andhra pradesh bifurcated in 2014 into the two states of andhra pradesh and telangana. It came into effect six months later on 1 april 1930 and applied to all of british india. The 2017 cmra sets the minimum age of marriage at 18 years for girls and 21 for boys.
To ensure that child marriage is eradicated from the society, the government of india enacted prevention of child marriage act 2006 by replacing the earlier legislation of child marriage restraint act, 1929. Whereas it is expedient to restrain the solemnization of child marriages. The child marriage restraint act, 1929 laws of india. Child marriage restraint act, 1929 4255 visitors reached this page 1971 visitors downloaded pdf file. A member provincial assembly punjab committed to table the punjab child marriage restraint amendment bill in the assembly. Moreover, the act did not reach the population in the villages for lack of publicity. The child marriage restraint act, 1929 19 of 1929 ministry. Child marriage act in india history, stats, prohibition. It would be later amended to 18 years and 21 years for girls and boys respectively. This act may be called the child marriage restraint act, 1 1929. Vi of 2017 an act to make afresh a timebefitting law by repealing the child marriage restraint act, 1929 whereas it is expedient and necessary to make afresh a timebefitting law by repealing the child marriage restraint act, 1929 act no. An act to restrain the solemnisation of child marriage. The child marriage restraint punjab amendment ordinance, 1971 has been amended by the punjab marriage restraint amendment act 2015. The quaids success in making the child marriage restraint act of 1929 applicable to muslim girls, too, has been frequently referred to in public debate, but it is worth recalling once more.
It was repealed by the child marriage restraint amendment act,1968 12 sec. Child marriage as human rights abuse webster university. Pdf child marriage restrain yeasin arafat academia. In 1978, the law was amended and raised the minimum age of marriage by. There are many marriages in which both the girl and the boy are children.
It is true that the preamble and the aims and objects cannot be used for interpreting the statute. The child marriage restraint act, 1929 19 of 1929 ministry of. Child marriage restraint act commonly known as sarda act was passed in 1929 which raised the marriageable age for girls to 14 and for boys to 18 years. Right to education pakistan rte pakistan, article 25a. Feb 06, 2018 child marriage restraint act, 1929 xix of 1929 an act to restraint. After noting the changes to the child marriage restraint act, 1929. Bangladeshs child marriage restraint act cmra, first passed in 1929 and subsequently amended several times, makes it a criminal offense. Recognizing child marriage as a social evil, the child marriage restraint act cmra 1929, popularly known as the sharda act, prohibited child marriages of girls below the age of 15 years and of boys below the age 18. This new act is armed with enabling provisions to prohibit child marriage, protect and.
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