Pakistan sets up committee to review forced marriage of Christian girl

The Pakistani government has established a committee to review the recent decision of a court to uphold the allegedly forced marriage of an underage Christian girl to a 30-year-old Muslim man.

The parents of Maria Shahbaz say that she was abducted in July of last yr when she was only 12. As happens so often in such cases, Maria was forced to convert to Islam and marry a Muslim man.

So far her parents have been unsuccessful of their legal attempts to have their daughter, who remains to be only 13, returned to them.

In March the Federal Constitutional Court rejected a petition filed by Maria’s father, resulting in protests across Pakistan by Christians and human rights organisations.

Subsequently, the Pakistani government has formed a 37-member national consultative committee. The committee is charged with reviewing the case and proposing measures that will put a stop to forced conversions and marriages.

The Christian and Hindu minorities in Pakistan are sometimes at the underside of society and young girls in each communities are sometimes targeted by Muslim abductors.

Abduction, followed by rape, forced conversion and marriage is the everyday modus operandi. Exact figures are hard to return by, however it is estimated that lots of and possibly as many as a thousand minority girls are victims of such crimes every yr.

Commenting on Maria’s case, a spokesperson for Open Doors, a gaggle that monitors persecution of Christians, said, “We urge the Government of Pakistan to take immediate motion to guard all minors, no matter religion or belief. 

“A judgment of this nature from a constitutional court sets a deeply concerning precedent and risks shaping similar decisions in lower courts. 

“We call for urgent justice and proceed to wish for cover, accountability, and decisive motion. Any delay will leave more girls vulnerable to forced conversion and sexual abuse.”