Islamabad, April 1 Christian groups and rights activists staged a protest in Pakistan's Karachi, expressing deep concern over what they described as a rising wave of forced marriages and religious conversions involving minor girls from their community across the country, a leading minority rights group said on Wednesday.
According to the Voice of Pakistan Minority (VOPM), the demonstration, organised by the National Christian Party, Gawahi Mission Trust, and other civil society groups on March 29, brought together families and faith leaders from across Karachi -- with participants raising slogans such as "Protect our daughters".
The rights body cited protesters alleging that young girls, some barely in their teens, were being abducted, coerced into converting, and married off to significantly older men.
The participants further argued that "these incidents were not only a grave violation of human rights but also an assault on the very notion of childhood."
"We are a peaceful community, but our daughters live in fear -- fear of being taken, fear of never returning home," VOPM quoted one of the speakers as saying.
Their demands were clear: "enforce the laws already on the books, pass stronger legislation where gaps remain, and ensure the right to safety, faith, and dignity for every citizen -- regardless of religion."
The VOPM noted that demonstrators also pointed to a recent controversial ruling by a Pakistani court that upheld the marriage of a forcibly converted 13-year-old Christian girl, Maria, to a Muslim man accused of kidnapping her -- deepening uncertainty and fear within minority communities.
"How can a child, who legally cannot obtain her own ID card, be considered mature enough to decide on religion or marriage?" the rights body quoted one of the participants as questioning.
The protesters called on the Chief Justice of Pakistan's Federal Constitutional Court to review the decision, while urging the country's President and Prime Minister to take immediate notice.
Beyond legal reform, the rights body said, the participants "appealed for moral solidarity -- for Muslim, Christian, Hindu, and Sikh communities alike to stand together in the face of injustice" across Pakistan.
"We are not asking for privilege. We are asking for protection -- for the right of every child to dream without fear," the VOPM quoted Sultan Sardar Bhatti, a prominent Pakistani Christian activist, as saying.
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor