Pakistan: Rights Activists stress to curb forced conversion, underage marriages

26-05-2023

Flavia Gkioka

Team Pakistan Researcher

Global Human Rights Defense

The National Minority Alliance of Pakistan (NMAP) and Voice for Justice (VFJ) combined their powers and collaborated to talk about the crucial and unsolved issues of conversion and underage marriage. The press conference took place at the Faisalabad Press Club. NMAP Chairman Lala Robin Daniel stressed the fact that so often in Pakistan, underage girls who belong in religious minorities fall victim to forced conversions and forced marriages. She proceeded to say that the law is very weak and does not protect young girls from these horrific situations. Moreover, it was said that in theory laws are strict when it comes to the abduction and conversion of young girls, but the victims rarely get justice because at its core, the system is flawed. A quick change in the justice system was demanded in order for these young girls to feel safe living in this country because no kid in the world should be involved in such awful situations. The chairperson of ‘’Voice for Justice’’, Joseph Jansen urged the authorities of Pakistan to take the initiative and adopt legislation prohibiting conversions, forced marriages, trafficking, and upholding women’s and children’s rights. Moreover, he demanded that the minimum marriageable age should be 18 years old because minority girls and women are an easy target as Islamic law allows girls to get married since they get 12 years old. To conclude, it is about time for actual changes to be implemented in order to protect human rights.

Sources and further readings: 

Pakistan: Rights Activists stress to curb forced conversion, underage marriages. (2023, May 25). ANI News. https://aninews.in/news/world/asia/pakistan-rights-activists-stress-to-curb-forced-conversion-underage-marriages20230525235546/