pakistan child marriage

Brides sit together during a mass wedding ceremony in Peshawar, Pakistan, April 25, 2014.

Pakistan cracks down on men trading young daughters to settle debts and disputes

Justice

In central Pakistan, local elder councils sometimes force underage girls into arranged marriages as remediation for civil disputes. The practice is known as “vani,” and human rights workers worry it’s on the rise. But there’s hope that a new civil mediation system approved this year by the Pakistani government could help.