Hafiz Hamdullah says he will marry 16-year-old girl if ‘angered’

ISLAMABAD: Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) leader Hafiz Hamdullah has said that if he gets “angry”, he would marry a 16-year-old girl, rejecting recent legislation that bans marriages below 18.

Talking to the media outside Parliament House, he urged JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman to organise mass weddings across all four provinces for young people who have reached puberty but are under 18.

He said his party would “trample underfoot” any law it believes goes against the Quran and Sunnah, adding that he would personally violate the law by marrying a minor if provoked.

His remarks came days after Maulana Fazlur Rehman strongly opposed the law setting 18 as the minimum age for marriage, calling it “un-Islamic” and openly vowing to defy it.

During a speech in a joint session of Parliament, he said such laws should have been referred to the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) for review and warned that imposing them under what he described as international pressure undermines Pakistan’s Islamic identity.

He accused the government of bypassing proper consultation and announced protests against what he termed unconstitutional amendments.

In May 2025, President Asif Ali Zardari signed the new child marriage law.

The Islamabad Capital Territory Child Marriage Restraint Bill 2025 sets the minimum legal age for marriage at 18 years for both males and females and introduces criminal penalties for those who solemnise or facilitate marriages below that age.

The law applies to the federal capital, Islamabad, and was the result of years of advocacy by women’s rights activists and lawmakers, including Sharmila Faruqi in the National Assembly and Senator Sherry Rehman in the Senate.

It was passed unanimously by both houses of Parliament and aims to protect children from the health, educational and social harms associated with early marriage. Rights groups and the United Nations praised the law as a major step toward aligning Pakistan with international human rights standards.

Child marriage has long been practised in Pakistan, especially in rural areas, and is linked to deep-rooted gender inequality and traditional customs.

According to UNICEF data, a significant proportion of women aged 20–24 were married before 18, with a smaller but troubling share married before 15.

Before this law, the federal Child Marriage Restraint Act of 1929 and provincial laws such as the Sindh Child Marriage Restraint Act 2013 addressed early marriage, but legal age limits varied and enforcement was weak in many regions.

However, the law has drawn fierce opposition from religious circles.

The Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) — a constitutional advisory body — has declared the bill “un-Islamic,” arguing that Islamic jurisprudence recognises marriage once a person reaches puberty, regardless of age.