A Christian girl has been raped, forcibly converted to Islam and married to a Muslim man in Pakistan.
Sana Bibi, aged 13, was abducted on her way to school by a Muslim man, Waheed Akhtar, known locally as Rambo. When her sister noticed her absence she told her family who immediately went to Akhtar's house but received no response.
After the whole family and the police forced entry into the house without finding their daughter, Bibi's father, Shahid Jaan, received a call from Akhtar who told him what he had done.
"I have married to your girl and she is Muslim now so whatever you want to do you can do," he told the family. "The law is on my side as I am a Muslim are you are just kaffir [non-Muslim]."
Bibi is below the legal age of consent for marriage in Pakistan, which currently stands at 14 years old.
"This attack reinforces the report by Muslim NGO 'Movement of Solidarity and Peace' who stated 700 Christian girls are forcibly converted into Islam by rapists who use Sharia Law to act with impunity," said Wilson Chowdry, chair of British-Pakistani Christian Association (BPCA) who are supporting the legal case on behalf of Bibi.
"Sadly these cases go to Sharia courts where Christian lawyers are not allowed to defend victims and Muslim lawyers notoriously provide shallow prosecution services meaning Sana [Bibi] is more than likely going to remain in an abusive relationship for the rest of her life," continued Chowdry.
"The majority of the girls abducted in this way are around 12 years of age, so laws regarding the legal age of consensual marriage could save a large proportion of victims.
"However failures by the government to enforce these laws suggests that passion for justice is non-existential."
The BPCA has committed to supporting Bibi's legal case and have launched a petition to end violence against women in Pakistan.
