Bureau report
Manchester
The Revd Canon Falak Sher, parish priest of the Church of the Ascension, Salford, said healthy marriages can produce a healthy nation in Pakistan. He urged the Chief Minister of Punjab, Maryam Nawaz, to ensure child protection, stop underage marriages and encourage constructive dialogue to promote collective responsibility in safeguarding the rights and wellbeing of children and families. He was addressing a press conference organised by overseas Pakistani clergy of the Manchester Diocese at the Church of the Ascension, Salford. He also read the message of Bishop David Walker, Lord Bishop of Manchester, on the occasion. Other speakers who addressed the event included Revd Fayaz Adman, Asif Mall, Aftab Alexander, Maqbool Malik, Revd Nathan Bhatti, Mahboob Elahi Butt and others.
Fr Falak Sher criticised the court decision regarding a minor girl, Maria Shahbaz, aged 12 years and 9 months, who was allegedly abducted and converted after marriage to a young man, Shehryar, in the Nawab Town Police Station area of Lahore. “We dedicate this conference to all our underage daughters who are suffering silently and forcibly in the name of power and religion. I hope and pray that you will raise your voice for them. We pause for a minute and pay our tributes to them,” he stated.
Fr Falak Sher said that traumatised minor mothers will produce traumatised children, which will create a traumatised society and an unhealthy nation. He said that if mothers receive good health care and education, they will help build a great nation. He added that although the minimum legal age for marriage is 18, thousands of children are still forced into marriage while still minors. He said that an appeal would be filed against the court decision in the Maria Shahbaz case and that Barrister Maqbool Malik would appear on behalf of the overseas Pakistani community. Other speakers also condemned child marriage in Pakistan, demanded protection of minors’ rights, implementation of the minimum marriage age law, and urged the media to highlight the issue.
