The ongoing case of Shifa Rafaqat, a 14-year-old student taken from her home in Sheikhupura on November 27, 2023, underscores Pakistan’s alarming failure to prevent child marriages and sexual exploitation of minor girls. Shaifa was taken by a neighbor, Najma Liaquat, who was later converted to Islam and married to 48-year-old Syed Shabbar Ali Gillani. Despite an FIR (No. 1967/23) filed under Section 365-B of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), authorities have yet to recover the minor girl, highlighting severe inefficiencies in addressing these human rights violations.
Rafaqat Masih, Shifa’s distraught father, recounted a deeply troubling encounter with police at the Sheikhupura station. When he sought help to recover his daughter, a police officer responded, “Your daughter will never return to you, Inshallah (if Allah wills),” showcasing that the police officer saw it as his religious duty to facilitate the conversion and child marriage of this Christian girl. This response illustrates a significant failure by authorities to recover minor girls and deliver justice.
Shifa’s mother fears her daughter may have been subjected to severe abuse by her 48-year-old so-called husband, who used forced conversion and marriage to cover up his crimes.
Joseph Jansen, Chairperson of Voice for Justice, expressed grave concern over the injustice in Shifa’s case. He emphasized that Shifa’s marriage is unequivocally illegal under the Child Marriage Restraint Act. Fraudulent documentation was used in court to conceal the real age of Shifa. During the court proceedings, Shifa’s ‘husband’ presented a conversion and marriage certificate claiming that Shifa was 18 years old, despite her government-issued birth certificate clearly indicating that she was only 14 years old.
On the marriage certificate, the name of Hafiz Fazal Dad Khan Chishti was mentioned as the Nikkah Khawan (cleric who solemnized the marriage). However, upon inquiry, Hafiz Fazal denied officiating or recording the marriage, indicating that the document was fabricated.
Multiple testimonies from the neighbourhood have reported that the group involved in taking Shifa, is operating a brothel. Despite numerous complaints being filed at the police station regarding this concern, authorities have been reluctant to investigate the matter.
Jansen explains that there is an alarming amount of Christian minor girls being abducted or lured away, leaving the Christian girls vulnerable.
Jansen estimates that around 25% of cases start as abduction cases. Jansen explains that girls typically between 11-15 years old are being abducted, converted to Islam and married. If they are required to testify in court, they are subjected to heavy intimidation and threats, pressuring them to provide a statement favorable to the abductor.
Jansen explains that, approximately 75% of these cases begin with a pattern of entrapment, often referred to as a “honey trap.” Young girls, typically between the ages of 11 and 15, are often seduced and lured with promises of a better life and material gifts. They willingly go with the abductors, convert to Islam, and enter into marriage. After these acts they are trapped and the abuse starts.
The problem is that, the intent of the perpetrators is not to take these girls as actual wives. Their intent is to sexually exploit them until they are no more of use. Christian young girls often only realize the severity of their situation after they are already trapped, making it too late to escape.
The future for these girls is bleak. They usually are physically and sexually abused by one or multiple men. Some are forced into prostitution or even sold as sex slaves within Pakistan or abroad.
There are numerous accounts of girls stating they were in the process of being sold to China or Gulf countries by their so called ‘husband’ and his family. Girls are also often forced into prostitution within Pakistan. There are also accounts of girls being abused by their ‘husband’ and his friends and family members, one at a time or in a group. Once they are no longer deemed useful, after a few months or years, they are sent back to their families.
In both cases, the police are not aiding the girls but rather facilitating the conversions and marriages, leaving Christian parents devastated and without any hope of reclaiming their daughter.
There is a prevalent mindset among some Muslims that they have a duty to expand the Muslim faith by converting individuals from other religions. This belief is often motivated by the hope of earning divine rewards in paradise and gaining significant praise within Pakistani society for facilitating such conversions.
They disregard the fate of these girls or the element of force in part of the cases.
Human rights activist Anosh Waseem pointed out that despite the National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR) sending multiple communications to police authorities, including the DPO Sheikhupura and IG Police Punjab, no action has been taken to recover Shifa. This reflects a troubling indifference toward the plight of minority girls and highlights the need for a more committed approach to justice.
Human rights defender Aneel Edger highlighted the urgent need for effective enforcement of laws protecting women. He noted that during Pakistan’s recent review under the UN International Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), the committee recommended robust measures to prevent forced conversions. The government must recognize these issues as grave human rights violations rather than religious matters.
Rukhsana Zafar criticized the Punjab Assembly’s standing committee for opposing the Punjab Child Marriage Restraint Bill, 2024, which proposed setting the legal marriage age at 18 and imposing penalties for those facilitating child marriages. This opposition disregards the Federal Shariat Court’s 2021 ruling affirming that a minimum marriage age is not un-Islamic. Zafar urged stakeholders to support progressive legal reforms to protect girls from forced marriages and conversions.
Women’s rights activist Nadia Stephen emphasized the critical need for stronger legal frameworks and a unified public stance against gender-based violence and forced conversions. She called for increased advocacy to hold authorities accountable for protecting the rights of vulnerable girls.
Shifa Rafaqat’s case is a distressing example of how young girls, particularly from religious minority communities, are abducted, converted, and married. The lack of timely action by authorities has allowed perpetrators to exploit legal loopholes.
The Government of Pakistan is urged to immediately strengthen legal and administrative frameworks to prevent such human rights violations and protect underage girls from forced marriages and conversions.
