Subject: Steps that should be taken to stop early child marriages in Pakistan.

Date: 16 May, 2016

The issue of early child marriage is getting bad as the time passes. Problem to solution
is the need of time. Child marriage, defined as a formal marriage or informal union before age
18, is a reality for both boys and girls, although girls are disproportionately the most affected.
Child marriage is widespread and can lead to a lifetime of disadvantage and deprivation. Around
42% of girls in Pakistan get married before their 18th birthday and 8% of adolescent married
women are already mothers between the ages of 15-19. After assessing all the alternatives on
given parameter most recommended alternatives are giving empowerment to girls. Working
directly with girls to give them the opportunity to build skills and knowledge, understand and
exercise their rights and develop support networks, is an important part of our efforts to end child
marriage. Using an empowerment approach can lead to positive outcomes for girls and their
families by supporting girls to become agents of change, helping them envisage what alternative
roles could look like in their communities and ultimately helping them to form their own
pathway in life.

Safe space programmes which offer a varied curriculum covering life skills, health and financial
literacy can provide girls with an opportunity to build their skills learn and meet friends and
mentors in an informal setting and learn about the services they can access in their community.
Safe space programmes can successfully build girls’ self-confidence, agency and self-efficacy,
which they need to flourish. They can provide a good alternative for girls who do not have access
to formal education such as married girls. Having a safe regular meeting place allows girls to
meet with peers and share experiences which can reduce their sense of isolation and
vulnerability.

Public awareness campaigns educate the public about specific issues. Campaigns bring issues to
the forefront of dialogue, and they can alter social consciousness and encourage people to change
their actions. Media campaigns enable organizations to deliver a message to a public audience
through the use of public message, posters, billboards, and television, radio and internet
advertisements. Media campaigns can be a relatively inexpensive way to reach an audience to
introduce and promote general prevention messages and can play a role in changing social
norms, reinforcing positive behaviors, and supporting policy change. Government must take

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steps to introduce girl’s empowerment programs and grants, it is also needed that as government
make policies to stop and prevent the society from this act.

Like all prevention efforts, media campaign development and implementation is an evolving
process. Organizations interested in creating media campaigns form working groups that include
members with expertise in various areas should also be invited to be members of the working
group. However, without conducting a formal evaluation it is difficult to gain representative
feedback regarding the campaign and its message and to systematically identify the effective
components of the campaign. Provide better facilities for women to secure their future

Elevator Pitch Message:

Good Afternoon Sir,

Safeguard childhood, stop early child marriages. I am Safia Altaf from join hands organization.
Child marriage is widespread and can lead to a lifetime of disadvantage and deprivation. Around

2
42% of girls in Pakistan get married before their 18th birthday and 8% of adolescent married
women are already mothers between the ages of 15-19. The main issue is unawareness to deal
with such type of problems. Giving empowerment to girls. Working directly with girls to give
them the opportunity to build skills and knowledge, understand and exercise their rights and
develop support networks, is an important part of our efforts to end child marriage. Using an
approach that can lead to positive outcomes for girls and their families by supporting girls. Safe
space programmes which offer a varied curriculum covering life skills, health and financial
literacy can provide girls with an opportunity to build their skills learn. They can provide a good
alternative for girls who do not have access to formal education such as married girls. Strong
media campaign and better policies play a vital role to aware them and provide . I have some
better policy options which you must review and adopted to overcome the issue. Please think
about my proposal here is my card. .
Thank you.