"Pakistan's Child Marriage Restraint Act 1929 sets the legitimate time of marriage for boys to 18 and 16 for girls. With this enactment, children’s marriage in Pakistan diminished altogether contrasted with the past, however the rate is still high. In 2013, the CEDAW Committee stated concerns about the continuation of child ‘marriage and the minimum age of marriage of girls in Pakistan (Brides, 2018). At the local level in 2014, the Sindh Assembly consistently accepted the Law on the Restriction of the Sindh Child Marriage, carrying the ‘minimum age for marriage at 18 years old therefore making child marriage a punishable crime (Sindhlaws, 2014). Despite this, the practice continues with reports of girls being married very young (Zia-ur-Rahman, 2014). In February 2017 UNFPA supported the Punjab Government in the preparation of a comprehensive Punjab Child Marriage Limitation Act (1929) in which NGO and local citizens took part (UNFPA, 2017; 2018). The Penal Code ‘was amended so that there are severe penalties for those participating in child marriage (ibid). Raising the age of marriage from 16 to 18 (initiated by Senator Shear Kamran, the Senator for Child Marriage Act) could not be changed and encountered religious obstacles. Although the Senate and standing committee accepted it (Brides, 2018), the Islamic Ideology Council, which provides Islamic legal consultancy to the Pakistani Government said marriage can happen at any age (ibid) but man and wife living together (known as Rukhsati in Pakistan) can only happen after the age of 18 (ibid). Thus, the Islamic Ideology Council stated Pakistan's laws prohibiting child marriage were not Islamic which led to criticism (Memri, 2014). Under the Universal Periodic Review, Pakistan has again adopted a review of the minimum age of marriage for men and women (HRW, 2017; Human Rights Commission, 2014) but no change has occurred. Pakistani courts often apply Sharia (Islamic law) which allow marriage once a girl reaches puberty (ibid)."