Faith, fear, and the price of saying no: When marriage becomes a weapon of conversion

Some months ago, I met with two teenage girls at a shelter home in Karachi, who shared their stories of resilience and courage with me.

- BY SHAERAN RUFUS

When marriage becomes a weapon of conversion

Hira and Sadia (names changed to protect their identities) were still minors when their lives took a devastating turn. They were abducted, forcibly married, and coerced into converting to Islam.

Their stories echo the silenced experiences of countless girls from Pakistan's religious minority communities, where the intersection of faith, gender, and power often leaves young women with no agency over their own lives.

Pakistan’s population of over 240 million includes 3.8 million Hindus (1.6%) and 3.3 million Christian (1.37%), according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics 2023 census.

The country is home to over 19 million child brides - nearly one in six are married before the age of 18, and as many as 4.8m married before the age of 15.

Between January and December 2023, there were 34 reported cases of abduction, and 102 allegedly forced conversions, according to a report titled Human Rights Observer 2024 — A fact sheet on key issues related to religious freedom and minorities’ rights in Pakistan, produced by the Centre for Social Justice, Lahore.

The highest number of cases were reported from Sindh province, home to most of Pakistan’s Hindu population. Punjab, where most of the country’s Christians live, accounted for 28 cases. There were 78 alleged victims between 14 and 18 years of age, nine over 18, and 25 under 14. The ages of 12 individuals were not available, while 12 were already married at the time of reporting.

Since 2023, activists in Pakistan have been organising an annual Minority Rights March, held to coincide with National Minorities Day -- officially observed annually on 11 August since 2009.