When "law is blind" is taken literally, it spells trouble. Laws are supposed to be a set of rules made by a state for keeping the peace and security of a society. In ancient times leaders would set the rules and the courts or police would punish the people breaking them. Over a period of time, as the one-man rules became debatable laws became a matter of public interest and representation. Democracy demanded that the law should not be made for one but for all. This required parliament made of people representation to debate the laws and develop a constitution that governed the laws. However, if parliaments represent not the masses but a specific segment, law-making assumes the title of "for a select few" rather than the majority.
Another challenge in law-making is the popular public sentiment based on their knowledge. An unaware, uneducated, un informed public can easily be swayed by vested media to support laws that may not be in their own long-term interest. Democracies are reflection of public interest. Public sentiments play a vital role in electing governments. Parliamentarians win their elections based on satisfying public demands. Once in government the public opinion matters equally especially in more developed countries. With the advent of social media, expressing public opinion is a matter of a click for even the underdeveloped regions. This brings into light the relationship of public opinion, policy and law.
In physics, the phenomenon of momentum occurs after the influence of a force, called pressure. Public opinion directly influences the law in much the same way, i.e., through pressure. It is an invisible force that exists as a background presence, and, because the public is not a maker of law, can only influence decisions and actions of lawmakers. The law of pressure in physics is also true in for the law of pressure on the laws of a country. Laws sometimes become the victim of public pressure and thus may not do justice to the cause.
Child marriages in the world and in Pakistan are a huge issue. This issue is also a significant controversy in public opinion. According to the International Centre for Research on Women (ICRW), 100 million girls will be married before the age of 18 in the coming decade. Most will be in sub-Saharan Africa and the Asian Subcontinent mainly Nepal, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh.
A recent report issued by World Health Organisation (WHO) said that more than 140 million underage girls would be married between 2011 to 2020. According to the WHO report titled 'Demographics of child marriages in Pakistan', child marriage remains a serious concern in Pakistan, with 21 per cent of girls getting married before reaching the age of 18, especially in rural areas. According to the report, Sindh has the highest percentage of child marriages, with 72 per cent girls and 25 per cent boys becoming victims to this injustice. Overall, the highest number of girl child marriages were recorded in the tribal areas of Pakistan, with 99 per cent girls married under this unlawful traditional practice.
There are many reasons for this deprivation of childhood and the right to grow up into a normal human being. Firstly, child marriages are life threatening. In fact, pregnancy is consistently among the leading causes of death for girls ages 15 to 19 worldwide. Girls who become pregnant under the age of 15 are five times more likely to die in childbirth than women who give birth in their 20s. Pakistan has one of the highest maternal mortality rates. Every 20 minutes a mother dies during delivery. Even when they survive their health is at risk. For example, 2 million women worldwide suffer from obstetric fistula, a debilitating complication of childbirth especially common among physically immature girls.
However even more greater are the risks of emotional and psychological damage. A child who is not educated and not exposed starts bearing another child. Her immaturity creates huge dangers of a life unfulfilled and unprepared. What you see is a complete deprivation of the mental maturity to deal with the challenges of handling marriages, in laws, child bearing, child rearing. Most poor and uneducated children who are thrust into this legal but social trauma become depressed, sick and in turn create a very unstable environment for the whole family.
The concept of puberty is also varying with time. 1400 years ago life expectancy was hardly 45 years and thus 16 years age was almost one third of your life time. Today life expectancy in the developed world has doubled to almost 85 while in the developing world it is between 65 to 70 years. Logically speaking the concept of puberty and age will be tough to standardize. The principles remain the same but its practices need to be adjusted.
Humanity is the base of every religion, every constitution and every law. When law-makers, scholars, religious leaders and the society have a split interpretation of these it is imperative that more discourse and debate be made to enhance the real spirit of a law. The current debate on child marriages is a good start and no matter how diverse the opinion on it, a discourse and dialogue will create the law of pressure to change its course. It is time for media, policymakers, social media activists and civil society activists to engage with religious scholars and other stakeholders to create a humane approach towards this initiation of a social trauma that has a bearing on generations to come. As Lydia Maria Child said "law is not law if it violates the principles of eternal justice".
(The writer can be reached at andleeb.abbas1@gmail.com)