The minimum legal age Christians must be to marry in Pakistan’s capital is now 18, following an amendment to the Christian Marriages Act. The local Catholic Church received this news “with satisfaction,” although it has a limited scope, as forced marriage is a widespread practice in the country, where 96.47% of the population is Muslim.
The new legislation will only apply to Christians in the territory of the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, as reported by the pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN, for its acronym in English).
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“Church leaders hope that this is the first step of many in a global plan to stop child marriage and, especially, the abductions and forced conversions of minority girls, including Christians,” the foundation clarified.
Bishop Samson Shukardin, current president of the Pakistani Episcopal Conference and Bishop of Hyderabad, spoke with ACN about this new measure, assuring that it will bring “a little peace of mind,” although not complete. In addition, the amendment will allow legal cases to be opened against those who kidnap and force underage girls to marry.
“Often, kidnapped girls are easy to marry, because they are taken somewhere where the age of marriage is 16 or, sometimes, Muslims claim that they are already of marriageable age. We Christians, on the other hand, insist that they should not marry before the age of 18, because they are still very young,” said Bishop Shukardin.
Girl kidnappings and forced marriages are a widespread problem in Pakistan that ACN notes has not yet been adequately addressed by local authorities.
“The problem is there, because kidnappings and conversions occur, we have already raised our voices many times but, until now, almost nothing had been done,” added the Bishop of Hyderabad.
In addition, the foundation emphasized that the local Catholic Church continues to fight for this measure to be applied to all Pakistanis. In June 2024, 10-year-old girl forced to marry her 35-year-old kidnapperafter being forced to convert to Islam.
Like her, many young victims are still waiting for national legislation that allows them to be released, the bishop said.
For its part, Pakistan’s National Justice and Peace Commission sent a note of gratitude to the Islamabad Parliament for the unanimous approval of the amendment.
“This legislation will play a crucial role in protecting our young women and minors from forced conversions and marriages. We hope that the government will take further measures to criminalize forced conversions,” reads the statement from the commission, made up of Catholic leaders.
Andres Henriquez
I have been a writer for ACI Prensa and a correspondent for EWTN since 2023. Since then, I have covered events in the Catholic Church in Venezuela and Latin America. I have more than 5 years of experience in bilingual media. Additionally, in Venezuela I have worked with non-governmental organizations in favor of freedom and respect for human rights in the country. I have been a member of the Regnum Christi Federation since 2014.