PAKISTAN (10 March 2025) – Shahida Bibi is now free to return home to her father and to her Christian faith after a court in Pakistan annulled her forced conversion and marriage to her stepfather’s brother. Bibi was 11 years old when her mother eloped with a Muslim man, who then “gave” Bibi to his brother. Bibi went on to give birth to two children, and the brother contracted Islamic Nikah, or a marriage union, to Bibi when she turned 18 in order to escape prosecution under the anti-child marriage law.  

In February 2025, a civil court in Bahawalpur, Pakistan issued a decree in favor of Bibi and ordered that Bibi’s forced marriage be dissolved on all identification documents. Bibi was issued new documents that correctly state her religion as Christianity. ADF International and allied attorneys supported Bibi’s legal defence. 

Globally, 100 million girls are at risk of being forced into child marriage over the next decade, according to UNICEF. The threat for girls from religious minorities, particularly in certain parts of Asia and Africa, of also being coerced into changing their religion in connection with a forced marriage is particularly acute. In Pakistan, for example, more than 1,000 girls from religious minorities are forced into conversion and marriage every year.   

“Nobody should suffer the horrors of abduction and forced marriage, further being forced to give up their faith,” said Tehmina Arora, Director of Advocacy, Asia for ADF International. “We are grateful that Shahida Bibi has received justice over her captor. Shahida is now free and able to begin the process of healing from this ordeal. These cases are a tremendous violation of these young women’s basic human rights, including their religious freedom.”  

ADF International and allied lawyers are engaged in supporting women and girls suffering from forced marriage in light of the recurring issue where women and girls, often Christian, are forced to convert to Islam for their marriage to be validated by a Sharia court.  

Girls from minority religions face acute risk globally  

Under Sharia law, which permits marriage at the age of puberty, the marriage age is lower than the official marriage age, which varies between 16 and 18 years in different Pakistani states. When girls are forced to convert, their parents often are unable to stop the violation from happening. These women and girls often are fearful for their lives and those of their families, preventing them from denouncing their captors. 

“While these forced conversion and marriage abuses happen across the globe, they are especially prevalent in Pakistan. In coordination with our allied lawyers in the country, we are taking every step possible to prevent these situations from occurring. The government has an opportunity to make a difference, and they should start by implementing a uniform age for marriage to prevent these forced kidnappings and marriages from happening in the first place. Every person under international law has the right to freely choose and live out their faith without fear of violence. Every state, including Pakistan, must ensure that their laws and policies are in line with their commitments to protect religious freedom under international law, and that the laws they do have in place to protect girls from these violations are enforced,” Arora continued.