Pakistani court issues ruling annulling forced marriages of Christian women
In a historic ruling, a Pakistani court has ordered the annulment of forced marriages of Christian women.
A Pakistani court has issued a historic ruling to annul the forced marriages of Christian women to Muslim men. The court declared the marriage of "Shahida Bibi," an 18-year-old Christian girl who was forcibly married to a Muslim man, null and void and restored her religious rights.
According to this ruling, she was granted the freedom to choose her religion and return to her family, which is considered a glimmer of hope in the fight against forced marriage and human rights violations in this country.
Shahida told the story of her painful life: "At the age of 11, after my mother married a Muslim man, I ran away, but then I was forced to marry this man's brother and gave birth to two children." Childbearing, which is approved by Islamic law, is inherently a clear violation of human rights.
In a historic and unexpected decision in response to the forced marriage of Christian women, the Bahawalpur Civil Court issued a ruling in February 2025 to annul the forced marriage of Christian women. This ruling also annulled the forced marriage of Shahida Bibi and confirmed her identity documents with the inclusion of Christianity.
According to reports published by ADF International, Pakistan is a Muslim-majority country where more than a thousand girls from minority communities are forcibly converted to Islam and married every year, and many of them are unable to escape due to threats against themselves and their families.
The European Union also issued a statement in January 2025 warning about the human rights situation in Pakistan. The statement included “blasphemy laws, forced conversions and religious persecution.” The statement said: “Failure to address these issues could have a negative impact on Pakistan’s trade relations with the EU.”
US lawmakers and human rights organizations also called on Pakistan to implement reforms to support religious freedom and protect vulnerable communities from forced marriages and religious conversions.
