16th Annual Rural Women Leadership Conference Concludes with Calls for Ending Child Marriage

Islamabad: In a significant culmination of the 16th Annual Rural Women Leadership Conference, held in Islamabad over three days, leaders, activists, and ambassadors joined hands to address the pressing issue of child marriage and advocate for the protection of girls’ and rural women’s rights. The event witnessed fervent discussions, resolution passages, and poignant speeches highlighting the need for collective efforts to eliminate child marriage.

European Union Ambassador Applauds Efforts

Dr. Riina Kionka, Ambassador of the European Union in Pakistan, commended the work of PODA (Potohar Organization for Development Advocacy) in their unrelenting struggle to protect the rights of girl children and rural women. During her speech on the concluding day of the conference, she stressed the importance of ensuring girls’ access to education, health information, services, and life-skills education as the key to eradicating child marriage. Dr. Kionka emphasized that child marriage is fundamentally an issue of gender inequality, compounded by legal complexities and deeply ingrained socio-cultural norms.

Calls to Raise the Minimum Age of Marriage for Girls

Throughout the conference, approximately 3,000 rural women leaders from 150 districts in Pakistan, including all four provinces, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), and Gilgit-Baltistan, explored the multifaceted issue of child marriage from legal and human rights perspectives. The conference participants unanimously passed a resolution calling for the minimum age of marriage for girls to be raised to 18 years through a legal amendment, excluding Sindh. This resolution aims to protect the fundamental rights of girls and harness the untapped potential that women represent in the country.

Ensuring Representation and Participation

Emphasizing the right to education as enshrined in Article 25-A of the Constitution of Pakistan, Sameena Nazir, the Executive Director and founder of PODA, called for equal representation of women at all levels and in all sectors.

International Support

HE Mr. Per Albert Ilsaas, Ambassador of Norway in Pakistan, praised the conference as a platform where women took center stage to discuss their top priorities.

Voices from the Community

The conference featured voices from rural women, including Azra, a mother who used a wheelchair, who shared her personal story and urged for the declaration of 18 years as the minimum age for marriage. She stressed the importance of protecting young girls’ fundamental rights to education and opportunities.

Ayesha Raza Farooq, Chairperson of the National Commission on Child Rights, signed the resolution, expressing support for raising the minimum age of marriage for girls to 18 years.

Addressing Challenges to Voter Registration

During the conference’s final day, discussions centered on “Enhancing Electoral Participation of Rural Women through Voter Registration and Democracy Education.” Ms. Nazir highlighted the importance of officially recording girls’ births and including them in Family Form-B to prevent issues with Computerized National Identity Cards (CNIC) when they reach the age of 18. She also discussed how these challenges lead to a lower turnout of women voters in Pakistan.

Awards and Educational Play

The conference concluded with an award ceremony, honoring rural women leaders who have excelled in protecting the rights of women and girls in their respective districts. The Jugni Theatre Group from Chakwal presented an educational play on the significance of casting votes.

Sponsors and Partners

The conference was made possible with the support of several organizations, including the European Union, the Norwegian Embassy in Islamabad, UN Women, Olive Culture, Italian Agency for Development Cooperation, ECP NED, NDI, and Nutritional International.

The event exemplified a shared commitment to protecting the rights of women and girls and fostering gender equality in Pakistan.