Laiba Suhail, a ten-year-old Christian girl, was forced to marry her 35-year-old kidnapper in Pakistan after being forced to convert to Islam.
The agency Asia News reported on June 11 that Laiba, a native of Faisalabad, was kidnapped on February 11, 2024 by Irfan Masih and handed over to Shafaqat Shah, an influential Muslim who protects the little girl’s abductor.
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“The girl was forced by Shah to stay in Dar-ul-aman (Women’s Shelter) in Faisalabad, because he was not willing to return her to her parents,” Asia News indicates.
The family later received a statement from Laiba stating that “she had embraced Islam voluntarily, that she had not been raped or forced into marriage, and that she had gone to Dar-ul-aman of her own free will.”
However, the family denounces that the marriage certificate with the 35-year-old man, which was given to them on March 6, “is clearly false.”
According to the information, “the certificate, to which no official document is attached, says that Laiba is 17 years old,” despite the fact that the records of the National Database & Registration Authority They show that the girl was born on October 15, 2013 and, therefore, is 10 years old.
Despite the evidence, police investigator Babar Sandhu told Suhail Masih that it is very difficult for his daughter to return because she has supposedly converted to Islam.
After the peaceful protests carried out by activists in Faisalabad, it was learned that Irfan was arrested by the police, but Laiba is still in the shelter home and Shafaqat Shah does not allow her parents to see her, favoring the situation of the kidnapper.
Conversions and forced marriages in Pakistan
According to Asia News, Shazia George, former member of the Punjab Commission on the Status of Women, “stated that civil society organizations and national human rights institutions must oppose the practice of child and forced marriage, validated by the police and judiciary,” as constituting an offense under the Child Marriage Restriction Act.
Although the marriage of a 10-year-old girl is considered violence, it is a widespread practice in Pakistan, where 96.47% of the population is Muslim.
As pointed out by Religious Freedom Report 2023 of Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), “kidnappings, forced conversions and forced marriages continue to afflict religious minorities” also due to “the lack of legal protection.”
The report relates that “on October 13, 2021, a parliamentary committee rejected a bill ‘against forced conversions’ after the Ministry of Religious Affairs objected.”
ACN indicates that the project established that “any non-Muslim adult who wishes to convert to another religion would have to request a conversion certificate from an additional hearing judge,” and that this would only be allowed for people over 18 years of age.
However, “the then Minister of Religious Affairs, Nor ul Haq Qadri, stated that the Ministry does not support restricting religious conversion before the age of 18, stating that younger people should have the right to choose their religion.”
The ACN report points out that “Pakistan ranks sixth in the world in terms of child marriage” and that “71% of girls do not have the right to decide who and when they marry”, a situation that also affects the minority. Hindu.
Eduardo Berdejo
Professional in Social Communication from the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos in Peru, I have more than 20 years of experience in Catholic digital journalism. As part of ACI Prensa I have been sent to cover Pope Francis’ trips to Cuba, Mexico, Colombia and Peru, in addition to the Synodality Synod in the Vatican in 2023.