Justice Fakhar-un-Nisa Khokhar of the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday observed that a girl wedded in infancy was not bound to pay any penalty in case she sought the dissolution of the marriage after attaining puberty.
| Married in infancy? You mean like burping milk? E-e-e-e-w! |
The judge observed that any conditions put forward by the girl’s father (whether alive or dead) would not be binding if the marriage was solemnised while she was a minor. She said marriage is a civil contract between two individuals, but no conditions can be placed on a minor who is deemed unaware of his or her rights and cannot legally be party to a contract.
| I thought a marriage contract in Pakland involved transferring ownership of a chattel... |
A marriage contracted with a minor girl would be deemed as a marriage without her consent, the court observed. It said such conditions were illegal in Islam and beyond the powers of parties to a marriage contract.
| They just haven't noticed that they're illegal for the past 1200 years, which means this decision will be overturned... |
The court made the observations on a petition filed by Tasawwar Abbas who submitted that he married Shahida Parveen. He said he had signed an agreement with Ms Parveen’s father which required him to pay Rs 100,000 as a penalty if his daughter failed to marry him after becoming an adult.
| "Ummm... I'm sweet sixteen and never been kissed. He's 72 years old with only four teeth and yesterday's dinner on his shirt front. I think I'll pass..." |
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