PESHAWAR: Two teenage child rights activists, 16-year-old Maham Nafees and 17-year-old Leena Qamar, have challenged Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s child marriage law in the Peshawar High Court.

The law sets the minimum marriage age at 16 for girls and 18 for boys. The petition argues that this gender-based distinction violates constitutional rights to equality, dignity and personal security.

The petitioners have urged the court to declare the discriminatory provision unconstitutional and ensure equal legal protection for girls and boys by setting the minimum marriage age at 18.

Maham Nafees said girls deserve the same protection as boys, while Leena Qamar stressed that a girl’s rights should not depend on the province where she lives.

Sindh, Punjab, Balochistan and Islamabad have already set the minimum marriage age at 18 for both girls and boys.