KUALA LUMPUR, May 27 — A Pakistani politician has proposed a law that makes it compulsory for those 18 years and above to get married.

Syed Abdul Rasheed, a member of the far-right political alliance Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), loosely translated as United Council of Action, also proposed that parents be fined if they failed to obey the law.

Pakistan portal Dawn reported that Rasheed made the proposal, called The Sindh Compulsory Marriage Act, 2021, at the Sindh Provincial Assembly.

The bill also recommends parents be fined Rs500 (RM13) if they failed to marry their children off at the age.

Under the proposed law, parents are required to give a "justified reason of delay” to the Deputy Commissioner of the District if a marriage is delayed.

In a video shared after the bill was submitted, Rasheed claimed that the law would control the rise of social ills, child rapes, immoral activities and crime.

"According to the shariat of Prophet Muhammad and Islamic teachings, Muslim males and females have been given the right to marry after attaining puberty or after 18 years of age and fulfilling this is the responsibility of their guardians, especially their parents.”

Rasheed also claimed that straying from Islamic teachings had led to obstacles preventing marriages, including unemployment and high costs.

The politician, who has been a member of the Sindh Assembly since August 2018, also called on the government to ban dowry, which he claimed would make the process of marriage easier.

Rasheed hoped that all Sindh Assembly members would pass the law for the happiness and facilitation of positive pathways for the province’s youth.