In a sun drenched courtyard in a bustling city of Punjab, a ten year old girl sits on a wooden stool. Her petitite frame overburdened by a heavy red lehenga. The lights glimmer as the aroma of roses fill the house with their scent. Her mother stacks gold bangles up her thin delicate wrists while her aunts clip a shimmering jhumer in her hair. Sitting in front of the mirror, the girl feels like a princess, believing it to be a game of dress-up. Her naïve assumptions hiding the harsh realities taking place.

But now the sun is starting to set. The heavy fabric starts feeling like a punishment and the little girl wants to game to end. In the very next door however, her fate is being signed away. She cannot run to her father for protection because he is the one handing over the pen, she cannot turn to her mother because she is the one fixing her veil. Even the town’s Qazi is busy nodding his approval over a plate of barfi. In this room full of people, she is entirely alone. Who does a child call when her own guardians are the ones breaking her?

In 2026, this script is being rewritten. The Punjab Child Marriage Restraint Bill 2026 has finally been passed. It acts as a guardian angel for such children, protecting them from being traded like some livestock.

Child marriage is now a non-bailable offense. In the old versions of our laws, offenders could pay a small fine or secure bail and be back home before the wedding flowers had even wilted. Not anymore. If you are caught stealing a child’s future, there is no easy way out. Punjab has finally realized that you cannot negotiate with the theft of a child’s future.

This is also evident from the introduction of stricter penalties. We are talking about rigorous imprisonment for up to three years and fines that reach five hundred thousand rupees. And the law doesn’t just go after the groom,........

© The Patriot