{"id":6649,"date":"2020-12-10T09:31:24","date_gmt":"2020-12-10T09:31:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adfinternational.uk\/?p=6649"},"modified":"2024-01-15T15:41:50","modified_gmt":"2024-01-15T14:41:50","slug":"international-human-rights-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/news\/international-human-rights-day","title":{"rendered":"On International Human Rights Day, Christian Women in Pakistan Hope for Freedom"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li>An estimated 1,000 women and girls from religious minorities are forcibly married and \u201cconverted\u201d in Pakistan every year<\/li>\n<li>A 16-day campaign championed by UN Women has overlooked the vulnerability of women of faith<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>LONDON<\/strong> (10 December 2020) \u2013 Many Christian women in Pakistan face a difficult Christmas this year. Unable to celebrate publicly, they must worship in secret, fearing discrimination, mob violence or even jail time under blasphemy laws.<\/p>\n<p>Teenagers face unique danger. An estimated 1,000 women and girls from religious minorities are forcibly married and converted every year. Maira Shabaz is just one of them. She will be with her family in hiding over this season.<\/p>\n<p>She escaped her captor \u2013 but not before he brutalised, blackmailed, married and forcibly \u201cconverted\u201d her. Together with her lawyer, ADF International is currently working to annul the marriage certificate.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNobody should be persecuted because of their faith. In Pakistan, young Christian girls are abducted and converted through forcible marriage simply because of their faith. The case of Maira is a shocking example of these practices.<\/p>\n<p>We hope the international community will open its eyes to what is happening in Pakistan and help protect Christians and other minorities who belong to some of the most vulnerable groups in the country,\u201d said Tehmina Arora, Director of Advocacy, Asia for ADF International.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The international community must protect girls like Maira this Christmas<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Former Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt has said that a \u201csea change\u201d is needed in the UK\u2019s approach to protecting Christians, who \u201cfrequently carry the heaviest burden of persecution\u201d, as outlined in a report presented to the government last year.<\/p>\n<p>At the UN Human Rights Council in March, the UK international ambassador for Human Rights Rita French urged discussion on steps to be taken \u201cto overcome the barriers, discrimination and persecution which restrict and prevent people from exercising their freedom of religion or belief.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>With Pakistan identified as a \u201chuman rights priority country\u201d by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, it\u2019s likely that girls like Maira would have been on the mind of the Ambassador. However, global human rights institutions are still lacking in their responses.<\/p>\n<p>On 10 December, UN Women concluded its promotion of a 16-day campaign to highlight violence against women, yet did not shine a light on the vulnerable situation of those belonging to minority Christian groups.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cChristians are the most persecuted religious group and it\u2019s encouraging that the UK government is no longer turning a blind eye to this fact. Still, more must be done to protect their safety and fundamental freedoms. At a time of international focus on violence against women, it\u2019s critical to recognise that Christian women face rights abuses because of their faith, including extreme violence, threats, enslavement, kidnappings, forced marriage and rape.<\/p>\n<p>Though often perpetrated by non-state actors, the persecution of Christians also happens at the hands of governments. We urge the international community to call out these governments for their violations and take action against such behaviour. All states must ensure that their laws and policies are in line with their commitments to protect religious freedom under international law,\u201d said Ryan Christopher, Director of ADF UK.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An estimated 1,000 women and girls from religious minorities are forcibly married and \u201cconverted\u201d in Pakistan every year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":23591,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[736],"tags":[898],"class_list":["post-6649","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-uk-en-gb"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.3 (Yoast SEO v27.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>On International Human Rights Day, Christian Women in Pakistan Hope for Freedom - ADF International<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/news\/international-human-rights-day\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"On International Human Rights Day, Christian Women in Pakistan Hope for Freedom\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"An estimated 1,000 women and girls from religious minorities are forcibly married and \u201cconverted\u201d in Pakistan every year.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/news\/international-human-rights-day\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"ADF International\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/facebook.com\/adfinternational\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-12-10T09:31:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-01-15T14:41:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/PHOTO-2020-09-04-10-42-37.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"455\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Philipp Bues\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@adfintl\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@adfintl\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Philipp Bues\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/en-gb\\\/news\\\/international-human-rights-day#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/en-gb\\\/news\\\/international-human-rights-day\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Philipp Bues\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/en-gb\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6b776fc8535453c6aad8a6f9d78e6141\"},\"headline\":\"On International Human Rights Day, Christian Women in Pakistan Hope for Freedom\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-12-10T09:31:24+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-01-15T14:41:50+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/en-gb\\\/news\\\/international-human-rights-day\"},\"wordCount\":529,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/en-gb\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/en-gb\\\/news\\\/international-human-rights-day#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/12\\\/PHOTO-2020-09-04-10-42-37.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"UK\"],\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/en-gb\\\/news\\\/international-human-rights-day\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/en-gb\\\/news\\\/international-human-rights-day\",\"name\":\"On International Human Rights Day, Christian Women in Pakistan Hope for Freedom - ADF International\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/en-gb\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/en-gb\\\/news\\\/international-human-rights-day#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/en-gb\\\/news\\\/international-human-rights-day#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/12\\\/PHOTO-2020-09-04-10-42-37.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-12-10T09:31:24+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-01-15T14:41:50+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/en-gb\\\/news\\\/international-human-rights-day#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/en-gb\\\/news\\\/international-human-rights-day\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/en-gb\\\/news\\\/international-human-rights-day#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/12\\\/PHOTO-2020-09-04-10-42-37.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/12\\\/PHOTO-2020-09-04-10-42-37.jpg\",\"width\":600,\"height\":455},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/en-gb\\\/news\\\/international-human-rights-day#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/en-gb\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"On International Human Rights Day, Christian Women in Pakistan Hope for Freedom\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/en-gb\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/en-gb\\\/\",\"name\":\"ADF International\",\"description\":\"Protecting Fundamental Freedoms. Promoting Inherent Dignity.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/en-gb\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/en-gb\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/en-gb\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Alliance Defending Freedom International\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/en-gb\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/en-gb\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/08\\\/ADF_Intl_R_RGB_175px.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/08\\\/ADF_Intl_R_RGB_175px.png\",\"width\":175,\"height\":106,\"caption\":\"Alliance Defending Freedom International\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/en-gb\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/facebook.com\\\/adfinternational\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/adfintl\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/adfinternational\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/adfinternational\\\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/en-gb\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6b776fc8535453c6aad8a6f9d78e6141\",\"name\":\"Philipp Bues\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/02\\\/Philipp-Bues-Headshot-150x150.jpg\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/02\\\/Philipp-Bues-Headshot-150x150.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/02\\\/Philipp-Bues-Headshot-150x150.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Philipp Bues\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/en-gb\\\/author\\\/pbuesadfinternational-org\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"On International Human Rights Day, Christian Women in Pakistan Hope for Freedom - ADF International","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/news\/international-human-rights-day","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"On International Human Rights Day, Christian Women in Pakistan Hope for Freedom","og_description":"An estimated 1,000 women and girls from religious minorities are forcibly married and \u201cconverted\u201d in Pakistan every year.","og_url":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/news\/international-human-rights-day","og_site_name":"ADF International","article_publisher":"https:\/\/facebook.com\/adfinternational","article_published_time":"2020-12-10T09:31:24+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-01-15T14:41:50+00:00","og_image":[{"width":600,"height":455,"url":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/PHOTO-2020-09-04-10-42-37.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Philipp Bues","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@adfintl","twitter_site":"@adfintl","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Philipp Bues","Estimated reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/news\/international-human-rights-day#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/news\/international-human-rights-day"},"author":{"name":"Philipp Bues","@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/#\/schema\/person\/6b776fc8535453c6aad8a6f9d78e6141"},"headline":"On International Human Rights Day, Christian Women in Pakistan Hope for Freedom","datePublished":"2020-12-10T09:31:24+00:00","dateModified":"2024-01-15T14:41:50+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/news\/international-human-rights-day"},"wordCount":529,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/news\/international-human-rights-day#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/PHOTO-2020-09-04-10-42-37.jpg","keywords":["UK"],"articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/news\/international-human-rights-day","url":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/news\/international-human-rights-day","name":"On International Human Rights Day, Christian Women in Pakistan Hope for Freedom - ADF International","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/news\/international-human-rights-day#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/news\/international-human-rights-day#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/PHOTO-2020-09-04-10-42-37.jpg","datePublished":"2020-12-10T09:31:24+00:00","dateModified":"2024-01-15T14:41:50+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/news\/international-human-rights-day#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/news\/international-human-rights-day"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/news\/international-human-rights-day#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/PHOTO-2020-09-04-10-42-37.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/PHOTO-2020-09-04-10-42-37.jpg","width":600,"height":455},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/news\/international-human-rights-day#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"On International Human Rights Day, Christian Women in Pakistan Hope for Freedom"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/#website","url":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/","name":"ADF International","description":"Protecting Fundamental Freedoms. Promoting Inherent Dignity.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/#organization","name":"Alliance Defending Freedom International","url":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ADF_Intl_R_RGB_175px.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ADF_Intl_R_RGB_175px.png","width":175,"height":106,"caption":"Alliance Defending Freedom International"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/facebook.com\/adfinternational","https:\/\/x.com\/adfintl","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/adfinternational","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/adfinternational\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/#\/schema\/person\/6b776fc8535453c6aad8a6f9d78e6141","name":"Philipp Bues","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Philipp-Bues-Headshot-150x150.jpg","url":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Philipp-Bues-Headshot-150x150.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Philipp-Bues-Headshot-150x150.jpg","caption":"Philipp Bues"},"url":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/author\/pbuesadfinternational-org"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6649","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6649"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6649\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23591"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6649"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6649"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6649"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}