"Hoorab Basharat is a minor girl, and legally, she lacks the capacity to make such a decision that can have an effect on her life. Therefore, the government needs to enforce existing domestic laws to prevent perpetrators from escaping justice."

The chairperson of Voice for Justice, Joseph Jansen

Faisalabad 29 Mar: The human rights activists have welcomed the decision of the court where the magistrate ordered a 13 years old Christian girl to reunite with her family three months after her abduction and forced faith conversions. They have urged the government to adopt a law to criminalize coerced religious conversion, and amend the Child Marriage Restraint Act to ensure that the minimum marriageable age is set at 18 years for both boys and girls, and that marriage with minor children is declared null and void. 

Hoorab D/O Basharat Masih has been living with her family consisting of six persons including her father Basharat, aunt Mariam and three siblings in a house located at village Chak 7 in Faisalabad. Basharat works as a laborer to make both ends meet, despite the fact that he suffers from asthma and a fractured arm. He as a single parent has been taking care of his children for six years after the death of his wife.

This poor family was leading a smooth life, however, their life changed drastically on the day when Hoorab visited a nearby grocery store to purchase some household items, but she didn’t return home. On 28 December 2022, a Muslim worker at Mustafa grocery store, Muhammad Usman abducted her from Faisalabad, and took her to Chiniot, where she was raped, forcibly converted, and forcibly married off to the captor. An FIR (No. 1291/22) under section 365-B of the Pakistan Penal Code was registered at Nishatabad police station in Faisalabad. Later, another offense under section 4/5 of the Punjab Child Marriage Restrain Act was added to FIR.

On 11 February 2023, the Municipal Committee, Chiniot declared the marriage certificate of Haroob and Usman dated 15th January to be unregistered, legally invalid, and fake. The police arrested the abductor, Muhammad Usman and made the recovery of the minor girl, Hoorab Basharat possible from the captivity of the oppressor. On 17th February, Hoorab was presented before the Magistrate, Faisalabad who sent her to a shelter home, Dar-ul-Aman on the ground that she is a minor girl, and her marriage is illegal according to Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929.

During the investigation, the owner of the grocery store, Mustafa told the police that his worker, Usman had enticed the little girl with the promise of buying her an expensive new dress, while Usman confessed that he has not entered into a legally valid marriage with the little girl. The court sent the perpetrator to jail on judicial remand.  On 24 March 2023, Hoorab appeared before the Magistrate, Faisalabad, and got her statement recorded that she wants to live with her father, and the magistrate ordered the police to let her reunite with her family.

In a statement, Lala Robin Daniel said that underage minority girls continue to suffer in Pakistan due to the impunity enjoyed by perpetrators as witnessed in several cases of abduction followed by so-called marriage and conversion of minor girls from religious minorities. It is sad that the legal duty-bearers treat citizens unfairly on the basis of their faith identity without bothering about the principles of rule of law and fair trial which oblige them to fairly implement the law and deliver justice regardless of parties’ identity, position, and influence in society.

The chairperson of Voice for Justice, Joseph Jansen said that Hoorab Basharat is a minor girl, and legally, she lacks the capacity to make such a decision that can have an effect on her life. Therefore, the government needs to enforce existing domestic laws to prevent perpetrators from escaping justice. He added that the government must not leave the complaints of forced faith conversions unaddressed, instead, it should prioritize criminalizing the practice of forced conversions, without surrendering its political will to religious groups that facilitate child marriage and coerced religious conversions.

A human rights activist, Aneel Edger said that the absence of an adequate institutional response emboldens the perpetrators to engage in coerced religious conversion, otherwise, such cases have a similar pattern, where underage minority girls are taken away by sexual predators against their will and then claimed to be converted and married, just to get away with their crimes involving abduction, child marriage, and sexual violence.

Editor's note: The state institutions need to impartially and promptly investigate forced conversion and child marriage with a view to apprehending the perpetrators to bring them to justice in proceedings that guarantee the right to a fair trial, and ensure that victims have the right to access to justice and to an effective remedy.