Child marriage law challenged in Federal Shariat Court

A law banning the marriage of children under eight years of age has been challenged in the Federal Shariat Court (FSC) in Islamabad, arguing that it was against the Constitution as well as the tenets of Islam and should be abolished.

The bill, which sought to protect the rights of children and eradicate marriages of children under the age of 18, was signed into law by the president on May 27 after sailing through both houses of parliament.

However, the move attracted strong opposition from the religious segments of society, with the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) — a constitutional body responsible for giving legal advice on Islamic issues to the government and parliament — ruling that “classifying marriage under the age of 18 as rape did not conform with Islamic law”.

A citizen, Shahzada Adnan, filed a petition through his lawyer, Advocate Mudassar Chaudhry, against the recently enacted Islamabad Capital Territory Child Marriage Restraint Act 2025. The petition has been filed against the Ministry of interior, Ministry of Law and Justice, and the CCI as respondents.

The petitioner said the law is in “clear conflict and repugnant to Sharia” and that is why it needs to be declared “un-Islamic, unconstitutional and against the fundamental of Islam”.

He reproduced several section from the Act which he said should be impugned. The law relates to registration of child marriage, punishment for male adult marrying a child, punishment for child abuse, and the punishment for parents or guardian concerned in a child marriage.

The petitioner maintained the law related to child marriage is against the Holy Quran and Hadith as well as the Constitution.

The petition read that in “accordance with the stated legislation the Islamic concept of marriage is totally negated as according [to the] injunction of Islam, age does not matter but the puberty is the key [to the] ceremony of Nikah”.

It continued that the “impugned law [is] ultra vires and against the basic fundamental laws of Sharia.” The petition also cities verses from the Holy Quran.

The petition further reads that the “impugned law is against the commandment in the Quran” whereas in Islam, “marriage (Nikaḥ) is a sacred contract and a highly recommended act”.

The petitioner said the state legislative bodies did not consider the opinion of the CCI that has declared the “impugned act as Islamic and against the spirit of Islam as well as the Constitution of Pakistan”.

It added that in Islamic Fiqh (jurisprudence), “there’s no specific age mandated for marriage. However, the general principle is that both parties must have reached maturity and have the mental capacity to understand the responsibilities of marriage”.

It read that Islamic scholars generally “consider the age of 15-16 as the appropriate age for marriage due to its suitability.”

JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman recently rejected the law and announced nationwide protest rallies, alleging that it “made fornication easier while making legitimate marriages difficult”.

“Pakistan is a strange country — during the time of General Musharraf, a constitutional amendment was passed in the name of women’s rights that decriminalised fornication,” Fazl said.

“Now, they are trying to ban the marriage of people under 18. The CII has already rejected this and all ulema and their parties have agreed that it contradicts the Quran and Sunnah,” he added.

Fazl announced a series of rallies and a large conference in Hazara Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on June 29. He said the party will host rallies to “create awareness about national sovereignty and Islamic governance”.