Forced Marriage

Man Commits Suicide After 11-year-old Daughter Declared Vani

DERA ISMAIL KHAN: A poor man ended his life by swallowing poisonous pills after his 11-year-old daughter was given as Vani by a village council (panchayat) in Bhagwani Shumali area in the limits of Paharpur Police Station. Before this tragic incident, the panchayat had also taken Rs0.7 million from the poor barber named Adil. The influential local landlords took extreme…

Panchayat Writ

Despite improvements in education and awareness of rights, the tribal court system continues to mete out injustice across the country. The latest example of ‘elders’ proving that age does not always bring wisdom occurred in the rural Bhagwani Shumali area of Dera Ismail Khan in K-P. A local man committed…

Criminalising Child Marriage

CHILD marriage persists in Pakistan for many reasons, and ending the practice…

Drivers of Forced Conversion through Marriage in Pakistan

The report examines Forced Conversion through Marriage (FCM) in Pakistan, revealing how…

Leadership Moot Calls for Raising Girls’ Minimum Age for Marriage to 18

Islamabad:At the inaugural plenary of the 18th Rural Women Leadership Training Conference held at Lok Virsa here on Wednesday, PODA leader Bismillah Iram said despite losing everything in the recent floods, the hopes and dreams of rural women in Pakistan remained unshaken. “With resilience, we stood firm to rebuild our…

Futures Snatched By Force Of Faith

The concerns regarding forced conversion are not a new phenomenon in our part of the world. Almost a century ago the All India Muslim League chalked out the rules for conversion in this region. The All India Muslim League adopted a resolution in December, 1927 at Calcutta which addressed the…

Conviction Rate Low in Child-Marriage Cases

HYDERABAD: Civil society representatives urged the Sindh government to strictly enforce the Child Marriage Restraint Act, warning that underage marriages remain rampant due to poor implementation. At a dialogue in Mirpurkhas, organised by the Hari Welfare Association, activists and officials expressed alarm over the persistence of the practice. The event…

Research Identifies Drivers of Forced Conversions

ISLAMABAD: National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR), in collaboration with Legal Aid Society (LAS), has launched a comprehensive documentary and research report to understand the drivers of forced conversion through marriages (FCM) and its multidimensional impact on survivors, religious minority communities (RMCs), and Pakistani society. The research report and the…

Afghan Teen Resists Forced Marriage

RAWALPINDI: Authorities have decided to deport a 16-year-old Afghan girl, Naushaba, and her mother back to Afghanistan after an attempted forced marriage in Rawalpindi failed. Police said the girl was brought from Afghanistan by an Afghan national, Male Khan, through Quetta’s Kuchlak route. He intended to marry her to his…

HRCP Shows Alarming Rise In Violence Against Minorities

LAHORE: The participants in a seminar at the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) on 19th September highlighted an alarming rise in violence against religious minorities during the last year. Launched at the seminar, the HRCP’s report, Streets of Fear: Freedom of Religion or Belief in 2024/25, documents a deeply troubling year…

Alleged Forced Conversion, Marriage Of Three Hindu Girls Sparks Protest

Girls tell the magistrate they did so of their own free will; parents say they are underage HYDERABAD: After Sanghar district an identical case of alleged abduction and forced conversion of religion of three Hindu girls has surfaced in Tando Allahyar district, where Kolhi and Meghwadh families have also lodged…

Fazl Rejects Child Marriage Bill, Announces Protest Across Country

PESHAWAR: Rejecting the Child Marriage Restraint Bill, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUIF) chief Maulana Fazlur Rahman on 01-June-2025 said that ease was being created for the promotion of adultery in the country, while the process of nikah was being made difficult under the pretext of so-called legislation. “There is no restriction of…

Rally Held For Kidnapped Bheel Girl

HYDERABAD: Fourteen-year-old Radha Bheel, who was allegedly abducted from the jurisdiction of Husri Police Station, remains missing even after 14 days, prompting her family, social activists, and members of the minority community to stage a protest rally and demonstration. The rally began from Siddique Mallah village and culminated in a…

K-P to send Child Marriage Bill to CII

PESHAWAR: The provincial government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is set to send the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Child Marriage Restraint Bill 2019 to the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) for review. K-P Minister for Law Aftab Alam, an advocate, stated this on March 11 during a meeting of the Provincial Standing Committee regarding…