Despite pointing out that marriage under the age of 18 is illegal under the Islamabad Child Marriage Restriction Act, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) has let a 15-year-old girl to live with her husband.
In order to reconcile Sharia principles with Pakistan’s legal framework regarding marriage, juvenile protection, and criminal law, the court also released a number of recommendations.
A court ruling regarding a minor bride
The issue concerned Madiha Bibi, who had stated that she would prefer to live with her husband rather than go back to her parents’ house. The girl repeatedly insisted that she wanted to be with her spouse voluntarily, even while she was in a crisis center.
The court determined that she was about eighteen years old based on her marriage certificate (nikahnama).
