On Tuesday, December 24, 2024, a meeting was held in the District Council Hall, Umerkot, under the auspices of the Sindh Human Rights Commission, in collaboration with Local Government Department and Musawi The meeting was attended by representatives from various departments including NADRA, Social Welfare Department, Election Commission Of Pakistan - ECP, Women Development Department Sindh, Minority Affairs, Sindh Information Department, Municipal Committee, Civil Society Support Programme (CSSP), CWSA, AWARE and UCF, along with civil society and media representatives.
Chairperson of the Sindh Human Rights Commission, Iqbal Ahmed Detho, commended the efforts of Deputy Director Local Government, Harish Chander, in ensuring the record registration of Hindu marriages (365% increase in November 2024 in Umerko District) and Pandits under the Hindu Marriage Act-2018. He extended his full support in making Umerkot a model district for implementing the Act.
Participants discussed challenges in the registration process, including the registration fees for both pandits and marriages, standarized pandit license, awareness campaign in UC level and training for pandits. Issues related to the availability of copies of ID cards were also thoroughly debated.
The meeting was a significant step toward improving the implementation of the Hindu Marriage Act-2018 in Sindh and addressing the concerns of the community.
