LAHORE, Pakistan — As a measure targeting child marriages in Pakistan languishes in political limbo, girls as young as 10 in minority religious groups continue to be abducted, forced to convert to Islam and marry or sold into sex slavery.
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Recent cases
The following are recent cases that media outlets Christian Daily International and Morning Star News report:
— A 40-year-old male Muslim neighbor and two accomplices abducted a 12-year-old girl at gunpoint Jan. 20 from her home in Chak 55/2L village in Pakistan’s Punjab province. The girl’s mother, Sumera Gulzar, said she contacted the neighbor’s family to try to get her daughter back, after which the neighbor “threatened to rape Ariha and to sell her to sex traffickers if we pursued the matter.”
— A 35-year-old married Muslim neighbor abducted a 12-year-old girl Jan. 5 from her home in Walton Model Colony No. 2 in Punjab province. The girl’s father, Shafique Masih, said the man took her to Sindh province and forced her to convert to Islam and marry him. Masih says police are not working to find Saba.
— After being abducted in June 2024 from Lahore and forced to convert to Islam and marry her captor, a now 18-year-old woman was able to escape Jan. 16 and return to her family, report her parents.
The bill to criminalize child marriages has languished in Punjab province’s assembly since April 2024. It would raise to 18 the legal age for marriage, up from the current minimum of 16, the news outlets report. A 2024 act already establishes 18 as the minimum age for Christians. However, Shariah allows Muslim girls to be married young, which is one reason some are forcibly converted.
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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