&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "EU Parliament slams Pakistan over forced marriages after 13-year-old girl's custody given to her rapist")
The European Parliament on Thursday (Jul 9) adopted a resolution condemning the widespread abduction, forced conversion, and child marriage of young girls in Pakistan. Calling on the South Asian nation to strengthen protections of girls belonging to religious minorities, the resolution called on Islamabad to overhaul its legal system. This comes after a 13-year-old Christian girl was forced into marriage with her abductor.
A crisis Pakistan is ignoring
In a resolution passed on Thursday, EU lawmakers warned that the abduction and forced conversion of young minority girls in the country has turned into an ongoing crisis that officials are largely ignoring.
At the centre of the international backlash is the case of Maria Shahbaz. She was just 13 when she was taken from her home in July 2025, forced to convert to Islam, and married off to a 30-year-old man. Her family fought the marriage in court, but Pakistan's Federal Constitutional Court officially upheld the union this past March, despite school and birth records proving she was a minor. Right now, Maria remains in her abductor's custody while her parents try to pull together a final legal appeal.
European officials say Maria's story is just the tip of the iceberg. "MEPs are calling for her to have access to legal representation, her family, and psychological support. They condemn similar abuses committed against underage girls belonging to religious minorities, underlining that her case is emblematic of broader human rights violations faced by minorities in Pakistan".
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Hindu, Christian girls targeted in Pakistan
The resolution highlighted United Nations data from 2025 showing that roughly 75 per cent of the women and girls forced into these conversions are Hindu, while the remaining 25 per cent are Christian.
Lawmakers demanded that Pakistan must come up with a "national mechanism," a nationwide tracking system, so families can actually report abductions without being turned away by local police. Crucially, they are calling for the men behind these marriages to be prosecuted instead of being let off the hook by local magistrates.
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"The perpetrators must be prosecuted and Pakistan's judicial framework strengthened, they add, and abducted girls must be able to return safely," the resolution said.
Advocacy groups like Human Rights Focus Pakistan (HRFP) have been pushing the case for months. Highlighting Maria's case, the group noted that this was not an isolated incident but a well-documented pattern. They say local courts frequently accept falsified statements from abductors claiming the girls converted entirely on their own free will.
