Quetta, Jan 27 (IANS) Christian rights advocates and civil society groups have severely condemned the incident of a 13-year-old Christian girl being allegedly abused in Pakistan, urging the country's authorities to protect vulnerable children from similar acts of violence and humiliation in the future.
Local sources said the minor, identified as Zarnaab, was working as a domestic worker in an influential family of Pakistan's Punjab province. Reportedly, she was tortured with household utensils, sparking condemnation from Christian rights advocates and civil society groups, according to a report in Pakistan Christian Post.
Farzana Imran, a leader of LEAD Ministries - a non-profit, evangelical Christian organisation - condemned what she termed as harassment and inhumane behaviour of influential employers who hire underage girls from Christian families at nominal pay and abuse them. She stressed that such practices showcase the deep-rooted discrimination and exploitation faced by Christian minorities, especially young girls, who are involved in domestic labour.
Another leader of LEAD Ministeries, Pastor Imran Amanat, stressed that lack of access to education is a key reason for pushing Christian children into exploitative labour. He said, "This is why we continuously urge our community to prioritise education for their children."
LEAD Ministries founder Sardar Mushtaq Gill stressed that minority women and girls are disproportionately impacted by illiteracy, poverty and social marginalisation.
"Human rights activists argue that incidents like this underscore the urgent need for stricter enforcement of child labour laws, accountability for abusive employers, and targeted social protection for religious minorities. They warn that without systemic change, poverty and discrimination will continue to trap Christian families in cycles of exploitation and fear," a report in Pakistan Christian Post stated.
"The case has renewed calls for authorities to investigate the alleged abuse, ensure justice for the victim, and take concrete steps to protect vulnerable children from similar acts of violence and humiliation in the future," it added.
Earlier this month, a federal court in Pakistan ordered the police to find and present a 13-year-old Christian girl who was kidnapped, converted and forcibly married to a Muslim man, local media reported.
A two-judge bench of Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) ordered police to present Maria Shahbaz and 30-year-old Shehryar Ahmad in court. Supreme Court Attorney Rana Abdul Hameed said that Ahmad abducted Maria Shahbaz on July 29 last year, forcibly converted her to Islam and married her, Christian Daily International reported. Justice Ali Baqar Najafi and Justice Karim Khan Agha admitted the petition filed by Maria's father, Shahbaz Masih.
“After our petitions for the child’s recovery were rejected by the sessions court in Lahore and the Lahore High Court, we decided to challenge those decisions before the FCC, Christian Daily International-Morning Star News quoted Hameed as saying.
"We informed the court that the girl is a minor and is being subjected to rape under the guise of Islamic conversion and marriage," Hameed said.
According to Hameed, Lahore police colluded with the suspect, resulting in magistrate court discharging the complaint of girl's family. He said, "The girl was forced to record a statement claiming she had willingly converted to Islam and married Ahmad."
"She also falsely stated that she was an adult, despite official documentary evidence proving that she is a minor and below the legal age of marriage under provincial child marriage laws, which prohibit the marriage of girls under 16," Christian Daily International-Morning Star News quoted Hameed as saying.
Shahbaz Masih, a driver and father of five, said that his neighbour, Ahmad, kidnapped his daughter when she was going to a nearby shop from her home. Masih registered a First Information Report (FIR) with Nawab Town Police Station in Lahore. However, police told him that Maria had recorded a statement on July 31, 2025, before Model Town Judicial Magistrate Hassan Sarfaraz Cheema claiming she had willingly converted to Islam and married Ahmad.
"Rights advocates say such cases follow a familiar pattern in Pakistan, where kidnapped girls, some as young as 10, are abducted, forcibly converted to Islam, and raped under the cover of Islamic 'marriages.' Victims are often pressured to record false statements in favour of their abductors, while judges routinely ignore documentary evidence of age and return the children to their kidnappers as legal wives," the report in Christian Daily International stated.
--IANS
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