A Pakistani Christian woman has urged the international community not to overlook the continuing abduction, forced conversion and marriage of underage girls from religious minority communities in her home country, warning that families are being left powerless to secure justice.
Addressing the WeBelieve Catholic festival near Birmingham, Ribqa Nevash warned that Christian girls in Pakistan are living with the daily threat of being abducted, forced to convert to Islam and then forced to marry their abductors, reports Aid to the Church in Need (ACN).
Nevash, who fled Pakistan in 2023 after becoming the target of death threats linked to her public advocacy, said such incidents occur with alarming frequency and highlighted the case of 13-year-old Christian girl Maria Shahbaz as an example of the challenges faced by affected families.
Maria’s case has attracted international attention after Pakistan’s Federal Constitutional Court ruled in February that her marriage to a 30-year-old Muslim man, Shehryar Ahmad, was legal despite her family maintaining that she had been abducted in July 2025, coerced into converting to Islam and forced to marry her abductor.
According to Christian Daily International and Morning Star News, her relatives have since sought a review of the ruling, arguing that official records show that she had not reached the legal minimum age for marriage and that the court failed to properly apply Pakistan's child marriage laws.
Pakistan’s child marriage laws differ between provinces and have been the subject of ongoing legal disputes.
While Punjab recently raised the minimum marriage age to 18, Shahbaz’s case centres on whether existing child marriage laws were properly applied and whether an underage marriage can be recognised by the courts.
According to ACN, Nevash told the WeBelieve festival that there were cases of forced conversions “every day” in Pakistan.
She said that while Christian communities have petitioned Pakistan’s Supreme Court to have Shahbaz returned to her family, for now she remains in the custody of the man she was forced to marry.
“After so many petitions were signed, they officially passed a bill in the federal court that from now on, if any Muslim man wants to marry a Christian girl, they can marry a 14, 15 or 16-year-old girl,” she said. “It is totally wrong …"
Nevash described the unequal treatment of Christian families under the law as they face significant obstacles when seeking justice for their abducted daughters.
“Our Christian boys and men are not allowed to marry [Muslim girls], but Muslim men are allowed to marry our minor girls,” she said.
She added that many affected families come from poor backgrounds and struggle to afford repeated visits to police stations and lengthy court proceedings.
“Their parents are crying. They are still looking for justice,” she said.
The issue has drawn increasing international scrutiny.
Earlier this year, UN experts voiced grave concern about reports of women and girls from Christian and other religious minority communities being abducted, forcibly converted and compelled into marriage, citing estimates from advocacy group The Voice of Pakistan Minorities that there may be as many as 2,000 cases each year.
Shahbaz’s case has become emblematic of wider concerns over religious freedom and the treatment of minority girls in Pakistan.
Earlier this month, the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling on Pakistani authorities to strengthen protections for abducted girls from religious minorities, ensure victims have access to legal support, and establish an effective national complaints mechanism.
Asked by an audience member whether Muslims in Pakistan could freely convert to Christianity, Nevash replied: “No, if they do that, they will be killed,” referring to threats from extremists and pressures that can arise within families.
The 26 year old also reflected on her own experiences of persecution before leaving Pakistan and recalled the August 16, 2023 attacks in Jaranwala, when mobs set fire to over 25 churches and at least 85 Christian homes following allegations of blasphemy.
She expressed disappointment that, despite widespread destruction, those responsible have yet to be held accountable.
Nevash encouraged supporters to sign Aid to the Church in Need's Article 18 petition, which calls for stronger safeguards of freedom of religion or belief in line with Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The campaign seeks to raise awareness of the discrimination, persecution and forced conversions experienced by religious minorities in countries including Pakistan.
