News Desk
Bahawalpur, Punjab:
A Pakistani civil court has annulled the marriage of a Christian woman who was forced to convert to Islam and marry a Muslim man as a child, in a rare legal victory against forced conversions and marriages. Civil Judge Afzal Baig of Bahawalpur ruled on February 12 in favor of 25-year-old Shahida Bibi, declaring her marriage to Shehzad Akhtar Khan invalid and restoring her Christian identity, according to her attorney, Lazar Allah Rakha.
The ruling also directed the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) to issue a new identity card for Bibi, reinstating her religious status as Christian and deleting her marital status. “It’s a rare case where justice has been served in a religious conversion matter,” Rakha reportedly said. He emphasized that coerced conversions and forced marriages remain a critical issue in Pakistan, particularly for minority communities.
Bibi’s ordeal began in 2012 when she was 11 years old and her mother, Naseem Bibi, eloped with a Muslim man, Nadeem Akhtar Khan. She was subsequently handed over to his brother, Shehzad Akhtar Khan, who sexually exploited her. After turning 18, she was forced into an Islamic marriage, or Nikah. During this time, she gave birth to two children, one of whom was born with physical disabilities and died at the age of four.
To circumvent Pakistan’s child marriage laws, which prohibit marriage for girls under 16, Khan allegedly fabricated conversion and marriage certificates. A pending bill in the Punjab Assembly since April 2024 seeks to eliminate gender-based age discrimination in marriage laws by raising the minimum age to 18 for both boys and girls. The case highlights the ongoing legal and social challenges surrounding child marriage and religious conversions.
Attorney Rakha stated that Bibi had never attended school and was unaware that Khan had fraudulently registered her as a Muslim in the national database. Her legal team successfully argued that the conversion and marriage were forced, leading the court to remove Khan’s name from her official documents and restore her father’s name, Robert Masih.
Bibi managed to escape in 2024, but she remained at risk of being forced back into captivity until the court’s ruling. “She’s now free to start her life afresh,” Rakha said, adding that the decision provides hope for other victims of forced conversions and marriages in Pakistan.
News Source:
https://www.christiandaily.com/news/court-in-pakistan-annuls-christian-womans-forced-marriage-conversion