UN experts fear for the safety of minority girls who are forced into religious conversion and forced marriages.

GENEVA (11 April 2024) – UN experts* today expressed dismay at the continuing lack of protection for young women and girls belonging to minority communities in Pakistan.

“Christian and Hindu girls remain particularly vulnerable to forced religious conversion, abduction, trafficking, child, early and forced marriage, domestic servitude and sexual violence,” the experts said. “The exposure of young women and girls belonging to religious minority communities to such heinous human rights violations and the impunity of such crimes can no longer be tolerated or justified.”

Pakistan: UN experts urge action on coerced religious conversions, forced and child marriage

“The Pakistani authorities must enact and rigorously enforce laws to ensure that marriages are contracted only with the free and full consent of the intended spouses, and that the minimum age for marriage is raised to 18, including for girls,” the experts said. “All women and girls must be treated without discrimination, including those belonging to the Christian and Hindu communities, or indeed other religions and beliefs.”

The experts expressed their concerns in a communication, followed by a press release issued on 16 January 2023.