A Christian father in Lahore, Pakistan, is battling in court to recover his 13-year-old daughter after she was abducted, forcibly converted to Islam, and married to a Muslim man.
Shahbaz Masih said his daughter, Maria, was taken on 29 July by 30-year-old neighbour Shehryar Ahmad. Two days later, Maria appeared before a magistrate, claiming she was 18, had converted to Islam, and had married Ahmad of her own choice.
Masih said her testimony was made under pressure. “I’m still in disbelief that the magistrate accepted her claim of being 18 years old, when her appearance clearly shows she is a child,” he told local reporters.
Rights advocates say it is common in Pakistan for kidnapped Christian and Hindu girls, some as young as 10, to be forced to convert, raped under the cover of “marriage,” and then compelled to give false statements in favour of their captors. Judges often dismiss official records proving the girls are minors.
Maria had stopped school after the COVID-19 pandemic and worked with her mother as a domestic helper to help support the family.
With support from the Raah-e-Nijaat Ministry, Masih has filed a case in the sessions court, presenting documentary evidence that Maria is a minor and that the marriage violates the Punjab Child Marriage Restraint Act, which sets 16 as the minimum marriage age for girls. He is also urging criminal charges against Ahmad and those who arranged the marriage.
While Pakistan’s president signed a landmark law in May raising the marriage age to 18 in the Islamabad Capital Territory, Punjab has not yet passed a similar measure. Currently, girls may legally marry at 16, though under Christian law the minimum age is 18. If Christian girls are forced to convert to Islam, however, they fall under sharia, which allows earlier marriage.
Pakistan ranks eighth on Open Doors’ 2025 World Watch List of the most dangerous countries for Christians.
Adapted from reporting by Christian Daily International - Morning Star News.
