“Despite fierce opposition, later that day the bill banning child marriage in Pakistan’s capital city, Islamabad, was passed. It will be signed into law by the president in the coming days…

The landmark parliamentary vote comes more than a decade after a similar bill was passed in Sindh province. Senators, civil society organisations and activists hope that because this latest bill was passed by both houses of Pakistan’s legislature, other regions will follow suit, eventually outlawing child marriage throughout the country…

Under the new legislation, the minimum age for marriage is 18 for both males and females in the capital, with underage marriage now a criminal offence. Previously, it was 16 for girls but 18 for boys.”

From The Guardian.