Pakistan family court rules in favor of Reeha Saleem, who was forced to convert from Christianity to Islam and marry her abductor at age 17. Finally Pakistan family court ruled in favor of Reeha Saleem
Continue readingSurvivors from forced marriages speak out on Intl Day of the Girl Child
Globally, 100 million girls are at risk of being forced into child marriage over the next decade. The threat for girls from religious minorities of further being coerced into changing their religion in connection to a forced marriage is particularly acute. Ahead of this year’s International Day of the Girl Child, ADF International is highlighting the testimonies of survivors of forced marriages in a new mini-documentary.
Continue reading“Thoroughly illegitimate”: forced conversion and marriage of women and girls called out at UN event
Coinciding with the expert meeting of the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance, the high-level event, hosted by Poland, Hungary, and ADF International, brought together the UN Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Religion or Belief and other actors to discuss challenges and solutions to the problem of forced conversions.
Continue readingBishops of Pakistan on Int’l Day of the Girl Child: Govt must end forced marriage and conversion of minor girls
On the International Day of the Girl Child, Catholic Bishops have taken action to challenge religious freedom violations against teenage girls.
Continue readingEscapee from forced marriage speaks out ahead of Intl Day of the Girl Child
This International Day of the Girl Child (11 October), many girls in South Asia fear for their safety. 14-year-old Maira is one of the estimated 1000 girls that are “converted” against their will through a forced marriage in Pakistan every year.
Continue readingForcibly-married 14-year-old Maira hopes for Easter miracle
Maira* loved to sing hymns at her church’s Easter service. This Easter, she is forced to hide rather than be able to join in celebrations. She had been abducted, forcibly married to a much older Muslim man, and must now wait in hiding after escaping. Forced “conversion” through marriage affects an estimated 1,000 girls from religious minorities in Pakistan every year.
Continue readingOn International Women’s Day, 14-year-old survivor Maira hopes for freedom
This International Women’s Day, Christian girls in Pakistan fear for their safety. Maira Shabaz knows the dangerous reality more than most. She escaped her captor – but not before he brutalised, blackmailed, married and forcibly “converted” her from her Christian faith.
Continue readingAbduction, rape, blackmail: A Pakistani teenager’s fight for justice
In Pakistan, a fourteen-year-old girl and her family were forced into hiding after she escaped her abductor who forcibly married her. She escaped and gave a statement to the court saying she was abused and blackmailed.
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