A detailed report called Stolen Girls, presented at the European Parliament by the Jubilee Campaign, exposes the tragic reality facing hundreds of young Christian girls in Pakistan. In six years between 2019 and 2025, at least 210 cases of abduction, forced conversion, and child marriage were reported, and these have been documented. Over 83 per cent of these victims were very young children (average age: 12.8 years), 96 per cent had their names forcibly changed, stripping away their identity and making them nearly impossible to trace.
Some cases of abduction of minor Hindu girls have also been listed but the primary focus of the study was what was happening to Christian minor girls in Pakistan. The cases of Hindu girls abducted, raped and forcibly converted have not been given due importance in the study.
To compound their miseries, 92 per cent of such marriage contracts involved age falsification to bypass child marriage laws that exist merely on paper. The age gap between the victim and perpetrator is also huge in most of the cases.
These comprehensive data sets were unveiled at the European Parliament some time ago. The data exposed a systematic, nationwide pattern of abduction, forced religious conversion, child marriages and sexual violence targeting minority Christian girls across Pakistan, according to a report in voicepk.net.
The report titled ‘Stolen Girls’, was presented by minority rights activist Joseph Janssen, under the Jubilee Campaign, “A Vital Voice Campaign”. It documents 210 verified cases occurring between 2019 and 2025, revealing a structured cycle of legal evasion, documentary fraud, and state-sanctioned impunity.
A detailed report called Stolen Girls, presented at the European Parliament by the Jubilee Campaign, exposes the tragic reality facing hundreds of young Christian girls in Pakistan. In six years between 2019 and 2025, at least 210 cases of abduction, forced conversion, and child marriage were reported and these have been documented. Over 83 per cent of these victims were very young children (average age: 12.8 years), 96 per cent had their names forcibly changed, stripping away their identity and making them nearly impossible to trace.
Some cases of abduction of minor Hindu girls have also been listed but the primary focus of the study was what was happening to Christian minor girls in Pakistan. The cases of Hindu girls abducted, raped and forcibly converted have not been given due importance in the study.
To compound their miseries, 92 per cent of such marriage contracts involved age falsification to bypass child marriage laws that exist merely on paper. The age gap between the victim and perpetrator is also huge in most of the cases.
These comprehensive data sets were unveiled at the European Parliament some time ago. The data exposed a systematic, nationwide pattern of abduction, forced religious conversion, child marriages and sexual violence targeting minority Christian girls across Pakistan, according to a report in voicepk.net.
The report titled ‘Stolen Girls’, was presented by minority rights activist Joseph Janssen, under the Jubilee Campaign, “A Vital Voice Campaign”. It documents 210 verified cases occurring between 2019 and 2025, revealing a structured cycle of legal evasion, documentary fraud, and state-sanctioned impunity.
Police, courts connive with perpetrators, fail victims
The study shows that the police as also the courts failed to do their duty even when the parents of the minor girls identified the perpetrators. In fact, the law enforcement agencies actually end up encouraging such cases as they help the perpetrators and not the victims, or their families.
The investigative report reveals that forced conversions are not isolated criminal acts, but a widespread crisis driven by institutional loopholes and organised exploitation.
Lahore crime capital in forced conversions
Out of 210 documented cases, 88.60 per cent (186 cases) occurred in Punjab province, followed by Sindh with 10.50 per cent (22 cases), and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with one per cent (02 cases). Overall, 10 districts have been identified as “hotspot districts” and these account for 86.40 per cent (173 cases) of all reported occurrences.
The capital of Punjab, Lahore, where Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz sits and rules the province, has the dubious distinction of topping the list as it reported 53 cases which constituted 25.2 per cent. Faisalabad reported 39 cases; Gujranwal 16 cases; Karachi 14 cases; Sheikhupura: 13 cases; Kasur & Islamabad/Rawalpindi reported nine cases each; Bahawalpur & Sialkot reported seven cases each and Okara reported six cases.
Extreme age disparities & victimization of minors
The findings highlight that children bear the overwhelming brunt of these crimes. Over 83 per cent of victims are minors under the age of 18 years. The report reveals that 134 children between 14 to 17 years (63.8 per cent) were made victims of this crime, 41 children below 14 years (19.5 per cent); while above 18 years, there were 35 victims (16.7 per cent).
Shockingly, the average age of the victims was around 12.8 years, while the average perpetrator age was 35.8 years (ranging from 21 to 60 years). The age gap is extreme and the average age gap was recorded to be 23 years, with several documented cases exceeding a 30-year age gap between the child and perpetrator.
The report exposes three primary mechanisms utilized by abductors, registrars, and local religious entities to bypass child protection laws and judicial scrutiny.
These were falsification of the age of victims as minor girl children are shown as of 18, 19 or 20 years. This is done by issuing falsified Nikah Namas to bypass laws pertaining to restrain to child marriages.
Victims are forcibly assigned new Islamic names (e.g., Ayesha, Fatima, Khadija, Zehra, Haleema, Amna, Zainab, Tayyaba) on conversion certificates, stripping away their religious heritage and rendering legal tracking by parents nearly impossible. This was done is 96 per cent of those cases the study had dealt with and amounted to identity obliteration.
Religious certificates are routinely issued by unauthorized local political actors, religious organisations, and unregulated welfare Non-Governmental Organistions (NGOs) operating outside statutory legal frameworks. In this, madrasas promoting Islamic radical ideas were found leading the charge against the victims and their families.
The report gives complete details regarding official documentation, legal filings, and marriage contracts that demonstrate systemic administrative failures. These so-called failures were all deliberate acts carried out by government officials.
The proceedings in some of the cases are listed hereunder for demonstrating how the legal system failed to afford any protection to victims or their families.
Maria Shahbaz, 13, Lahore: The case was registered at Nawab Town Police Station under PPC Section 365-B (abduction). However it ended dismally for the parents of the girl. Despite a defective marriage certificate (Nikah Nama), lacking an official identity card number (CNIC) and falsely listing the 13-year-old child as a self-sufficient adult, court rulings awarded legal custody of the minor girl to her purported husband/abductor rather than her parents. [On the basis of a review petition, the case has now been readmitted recently in Islamabad High Court.]
Yarosha Saleem, 11, Sheikhupura: The report reveals the case had a delayed police response. Police delayed registering an FIR (No. 1569/24) for six months following her abduction from Ferozewala. Eventually filed under PPC Section 498-B (forced marriage) and Sections 4 & 5 of the Child Marriage Restraint Act.
Laiba Sohail, 10, Faisalabad: The marriage contract recorded Laiba’s date of birth as 20-04-2007 (fabricating her age to make her appear as an adult). The document lacked her mandatory national identity card number (CNIC) and fraudulently described her as ‘self-sufficient’.
Nisha Abbas, 14, Lahore: She was forcibly converted by the New Muslim Welfare Association Pakistan, assigned the Islamic name “Maryam,” and was falsely declared 18 years old.
Chashman Kanwal, Faisalabad: Issued a conversion certificate by local political/religious group Pakistan Sunni Tehreek (Sahiwal branch), renaming her “Ayesha” and declaring her an adult.
Pattern of abuse & impunity in six stages
The report identified a six step systemic cycle that denies justice and perpetuates impunity. At the first stage, according to this, the child kidnapped or groomed, and lured away from her home, school, or workplace. This is outright abduction.
In the next stage, forced conversion of the girl follows, where she is pressured, threatened, or coerced into converting to Islam. In the third stage, a marriage is forcibly conducted, and a fabricated Nikah Nama is generated.
In the fourth stage, coerced while under the perpetrator’s control, the victim is brought before a magistrate to state under Section 164 (CrPC) that she left home voluntarily and everything that followed came about of her own free will.
In the fifth stage, court proceedings are revealed to overlook evidence of the age and of coercion and courts routinely accept the recorded statement and fraudulent marriage documents..
In the sixth and last stage, the legal custody is handed to the abductor, perpetrators face no penalty, and the child’s identity gets erased.
Policy recommendations, urgent measures suggested
The report highlights dozens of missing minority girls whose whereabouts and living conditions require urgent governmental and legal clarification, including Maria Shahbaz, Nisha Abbas, Amber Nadeem, Sataish Mariam, Jessica Ashfaq, Saneha Sharif, Saneha Meghwar, Radha Bheel, Kajol Meghwar, and Najo Kohli, among others.
To break this repeating cycle, human rights advocates presented seven actionable demands to international lawmakers and Pakistani authorities.
1. Criminalize coerced conversion: Enact strict statutory legislation specifically defining and penalizing forced religious conversions.
2. Declare underage marriages void: Nullify all marriage contracts involving children under the age of 18 without exception.
3. Mandatory electronic age verification: Mandate official government identification (such as NADRA birth records) as the sole legal standard for age verification prior to issuing marriage contracts.
4. Judicial & law enforcement accountability: Conduct independent investigations into police inaction and court rulings that validate fraudulent documents.
5. Protect survivors: Establish safe shelters (Dar-ul-Aman), legal aid, and psychological rehabilitation independent of perpetrator influence.
6. Judicial safeguards: Ensure statements taken under Section 164 CrPC are conducted free from intimidation or abductor control.
7. Institutional training: Implement mandatory training programs on child protection laws for judges, police officers, and marriage registrars (Nikah Registrars).
Keywords: Pakistan, abduction of minor girls, rape & forced conversions, marriages with older men.
