Islamabad, Aug 1(IANS) A leading minority rights organisation expressed grave concern over a disturbing pattern of forced conversions and child marriage targeting minority girls in Pakistan, revealing that over 83 per cent of the victims are minors.
According to the Voice of Pakistan Minority (VOPM), the persistent failure of state institutions—including the police, judiciary, and administrative authorities—to respond effectively has fostered an environment of near impunity for perpetrators. The organisation said that affected families are often left to navigate a system stacked against them, while victims are denied both protection and a meaningful voice.
Citing a recent report titled “Stolen Girls”, presented at the European Parliament by US-based advocacy group Jubilee Campaign, it said that at least 210 cases of abduction, forced conversion, and child marriage involving Christian girls in Pakistan were documented between 2019 and 2025.
Emphasising that these are not isolated incidents but form a part of a broader pattern, the VOPM said, the findings reveal “deep institutional failures and a cycle of abuse” that continues largely unchecked.
“The numbers alone are alarming. More than 83 per cent of the victims are minors. The average age is just 12.8 years. These are children who should be in school, playing with friends, and dreaming about their future. Instead, they are forced into marriages with men nearly three times their age. The report shows that the average perpetrator is around 35 years old, with age gaps often exceeding 20 or even 30 years,” the rights body noted.
Referring to the case of 13-year-old Pakistani Christian girl Maria Shahbaz from Lahore, it said her abduction was reported, and yet the Pakistan legal system has failed her. Despite clear irregularities in the marriage documents, including missing identity details and false claims about her age, the court granted custody to the man accused of abducting her. It noted that her parents were left helpless, forced to watch the system legitimise what they believed was a criminal act.
The VOPM highlighted that Pakistan’s Punjab province has emerged as the epicentre of child marriage and forced conversions, accounting for nearly 89 per cent of reported cases. With cities like Lahore and Faisalabad topping the list, the data reveals that these abuses are not confined to remote regions but are taking place openly in some of Pakistan’s largest urban centres.
“Each case documented in ‘Stolen Girls’ represents a life interrupted, a childhood stolen, and a family left searching for answers. These are not just numbers in a report presented in distant halls of power. They are urgent calls for justice,” the rights body stressed.
–IANS
scor/rs
