GENEVA - UN experts* today expressed serious concern about the continued and widespread patterns of abduction and forced religious conversion through marriage affecting women and girls belonging to minority communities in Pakistan, as impunity fuels this relentless practice.
"Any change of religion or belief must be genuinely free from coercion, and marriage must be based on full and free consent, which is not legally possible when the victim is a child," the experts said.
In 2025, about 75 percent of the women and girls affected by forced conversion through marriage were Hindu and 25 percent Christian. Almost 80 percent of incidents occurred in Sindh province. Adolescent girls between 14 and 18 are particularly targeted and some girls are even younger. Women and girls facing poverty and marginalisation face heightened risks, often being exposed to physical and sexual abuse and exploitation, social stigma and severe trauma.
"These women and girls endure a continuous sense of terror, face coercion and are deprived of their freedom of religion or belief and autonomy under patriarchal and political pressures. This must stop," the experts said.
The scale and persistence of these grave human rights violations point to systemic discrimination against non-Muslim women and girls who are forced or compelled to convert to Islam in order to marry Muslim men.
The experts reiterated their call on Pakistan to intensify efforts to eradicate forced conversions, to raise the minimum age for marriage to 18 in all provinces and territories, to criminalise forced religious conversion as a distinct offence and to enforce applicable laws pertaining to human trafficking and sexual violence.
The experts echoed the recommendations of several UN Treaty Bodies, urging a prompt investigation into all allegations impartially and effectively. They called for all perpetrators to be brought to justice.
"We are deeply concerned that law enforcement authorities often dismiss complaints lodged by victims' families, fail to investigate or prosecute forced conversions in a timely manner, or neglect to properly assess the age of victims," the experts said.
They also called on Pakistan to provide comprehensive, inclusive and gender-responsive support services for victims, including child-centric protection services such as safe shelters, legal aid, psychological counselling and reintegration programmes.
The experts are concerned that the Government has not taken sufficient measures to address the root causes of forced conversion through marriage, such as gender inequality based on patriarchal norms, poverty, social exclusion, discrimination against religion and belief minorities, religious intolerance and rampant impunity.
"Freedom of religion or belief and equality must be ensured for all without discrimination," the experts said.
The experts expressed their concerns in a communication, followed by press releases issued on 16 January 2023 and 11 April 2024.
