Islamabad, February 16 – A federal court in Pakistan has granted custody of a 13-year-old Christian girl, identified as Maria Shahbaz, to a Muslim man who had abducted her, converted her to Islam, and married her, according to a report.
The judges did not accept the birth certificate presented by Maria Shahbaz's parents, which proved her age. Safdar Chaudhry, chairperson of the Raah-e-Nijaat Ministry, stated that the judges also rejected earlier judicial findings that the marriage was illegal, as reported by The European Conservative, citing Christian Daily International–Morning Star News.
The parents of the 13-year-old girl are devastated by the court's verdict. The girl's father, Shahbaz Masih, who works as a driver, stated that his neighbor kidnapped Maria Shahbaz on July 29 last year when she was going to a nearby shop. Since then, his family has repeatedly requested judicial intervention to find her.
"Such cases follow a recurring pattern. Every year in Pakistan, an estimated 1,000 girls and young women from religious minorities (many of whom are Christians) face abduction, rape, forced marriage to their much older abductors, coerced conversion to Islam, and various other forms of abuse," Uzay Bulut, a Turkish journalist formerly based in Ankara, wrote in a report in The European Conservative.
"Victims range in age from seven and include girls with disabilities. Families often never see their loved ones again because the police rarely act and the courts frequently fail to protect victims. Survivors endure shame, PTSD, and social stigma in Pakistan's honor-based culture," she added.
Pakistan has been ranked eighth in the 2026 World Watch List of Open Doors, which monitors Christian persecution across the world. The organization noted that Christian women are also targeted with acid attacks, workplace harassment, blasphemy allegations, and honor killings. It mentioned that many Christian women remain trapped in debt-bonded labor, such as brick kilns, where they face additional sexual violence and exploitation.
Open Doors emphasized that Christian men in Pakistan also face constant threats of blasphemy allegations, false imprisonment, torture, and execution. Murders are common if men are accused of insulting Islam, while entire families face difficulty after false charges. Christian men and boys are forced to take low-status or hazardous jobs, often referred to as being trapped in bonded labor.
A report in The European Conservative stated, "In small towns and remote villages, Christian children have to attend Islamic teaching at the local madrassa (Islamic schools), while Christian teaching is restricted to Sunday services. Christian parents try to prevent their children from speaking about their faith since they could be pressured to 'return' to Islam."
"At school, Christian children are often not allowed to use the same water fountain as their Muslim classmates to avoid 'defiling' the drinking water. Children are often bullied, and many are asked to clean the latrines or sweep the floor, as Christians are commonly perceived as being sweepers," it added.