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The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (U.N. Women) came together with renowned Pakistani designer, Ali Xeeshan, in an endeavor to raise awareness against child marriage in Pakistan. The campaign stresses on the fact that little girls should be in school wearing uniforms not wedding dresses and aims to end child marriages by raising public awareness amongst the masses. Ali Xeeshan, used his platform to bring a distinct spotlight on the epidemic of child marriages, at the Hum Bridal Couture Week 2017 in Lahore, Pakistan.
As a showstopper for his bridal collection, the designer startled everyone by choosing a young teenage girl to walk down the ramp wearing a ‘Bridal Uniform‘ dress. The dress was embellished with heavy motifs along with a school bag that had a garland on it. She stood apart from the rest of the models and caught the immediate attention of the audience.
“This symbol, the bridal uniform was used to question the unfortunate nature of many marriages that should not be a cause of celebration for the brides, or even the nation as a whole. The horrible trade-off that takes place when a child is deprived of her right to an education, and instead is being dressed to be someone’s wife, is what this campaign targets” reads the statement by UN Women. The legal age of marriage for women is 16 and it is 18 for men in Pakistan. In spite of the legalities present many women get married before the tender age of 15. Its really surprising as most of the women are not allowed to drive or to vote before the age of 18 but ironically, they are forced into these lifelong commitments way before they reach their legal age. Child marriage is a pandemic issue in Pakistan. Although there have been several pieces of legislation to put an end to it, there has been mounting criticism and resistance regarding the moves in Pakistan and internationally.
Mahira Khan has signed the petition to put an end to child marriages. Join the cause by signing the petition: http://thebridaluniform.com/sign-petition/signature/
The campaign didn’t end there, but then appeared on social media. A website was also set up that urged people to put an end to child marriages. As the campaign kicked off, several celebrities signed the petition.
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