Islamabad, 21st August, 2017: Senator Sehar Kamran (TI) has introduced three bills in the Senate of Pakistan, on Monday, 21st August 2017. The bills were:
i) Increasing female participation to one-third in the Council of Islamic Ideology;
ii) Prohibit employment of children and to regulate the conditions of work of adolescents and;
iii) To further amend the Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929.
While proposing an increase in the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII), Senator Sehar Kamran said it is unfortunate that there is only one female member in CII right now. She asked for how long we will keep the female voice out of the decision making processes which equally affect almost half the population? She said we must ensure a stronger female voice, particularly in matters that relate directly to them, within the realm of religious decision making. In this regard, she said at least one-third female members should be appointed as the members of the CII and presence 1/3 of the women members shall be mandatory for the purpose of quorum.
Senator Kamran while introducing her second bill on prohibiting employment of children and to regulate the conditions of work of adolescents. She said both the Constitution and Conventions of the International Labour Organization prohibit the employment of children before the age of 14 years. She said it is a moment of concern for Pakistan according to Amnesty International, 35 per cent of children in domestic employment in Pakistan are subjected to violence. Denying children the fundamental right to education between the ages of 5 & 16 exposes them to health hazards, hampers their development and puts them at risk of physical, psychological and sexual violence, she added.
Senator Kamran said this bill proposes the constitution of an Adolescent Labour Regulatory Authority, and that no adolescent shall be employed unless registered with labour authorities. She said this bill proposes 1 to 6 months imprisonment with fine extending to PKR 50,000 who employ children below 14 years of age at their work station and a penalty of 1 to 6 months imprisonment with PKR 30,000 to 50,000 thousand fine who employs an adolescent in an establishment and fail to maintain a register for proper attendance with working hours or enter false entry in such register or who fail to produce record for inspection.
The third bill introduced by Senator Sehar Kamran was to further amend the Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929. She said in the Indo-Pak subcontinent, during 1929, the Child Marriages Restraint Act was introduced which was drafted by the legendary lawyer, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah as he opposed the tradition of child marriages. She said as Pakistan is signatory of the Convention on the Rights of the Child which defines the word “child” that “Everyone who is less than 18 years will considered as child”. It is important to honour international commitments, and for that purpose, age of children should be raised till 18 years for marriage.
Senator Kamran stated that Article 25(3) of constitution of Pakistan says that protection of children is prerequisite. She stated an amendment in the law is important because “Wani”, “Qasas” “Deat” and “Wata Sata” are inhumane traditions. She opined that as almost 47% population in Pakistan is less than 18 year old, we have to protect our future as law makers of the country. She commended Sindh and Punjab province who have raised the minimum marriageable age for girls to 18 and said Federal should also follow suit.
The three proposed bills have been referred to the concerned committees for further action.
Press Release appeared in Dawn News paper