LAHORE, Pakistan — A Pakistani judge has granted an annulment to a woman given as a child to a man who forced her to convert from Christianity and marry him.
In a move Feb. 12 seen as a human rights victory, Afzal Baig, a civil judge in Bahawalpur, invalidated the Muslim marriage of 25-year-old Shahida Bibi, reports Christian Daily International-Morning Star News.
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Fresh identity
In addition, “the judge directed the National Database and Registration Authority to make a fresh identity card for Bibi, restoring her religious status as Christian and deleting her marital status,” attorney Lazar Allah Rakha told the news outlets. “It’s a rare case where justice has been served in a religious conversion matter.”
In 2012, when Bibi was 11, she was given to the Muslim brother of her mother’s new husband. Bibi was sexually exploited. The man fabricated conversion and marriage documents and forced Bibi into a Muslim marriage at 18. She birthed children while captive.
In 2024, she escaped.
An attorney allied with Alliance Defending Freedom International handled her court case, the news outlets report.
World Watch
Pakistan is No. 8 on Open Doors’ 2025 World Watch List of places most difficult to be a Christian.
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