Apr 14 – United Nations (UN) human rights experts have raised concerns over the vulnerability of women and girls from minority communities in Pakistan, particularly highlighting the risks of forced marriages and conversions, according to a report by Dawn.
In a statement issued in Geneva, Chair of the Working Group on Discrimination against Women and Girls, Dorothy Estrada Tanck, along with members Claudia Flores, Ivana Krstic, Haina Lu, and Laura Nyirinkindi, expressed grave concern over the situation faced by women and girls in Pakistan.
The experts emphasized the alarming prevalence of human rights violations against young women and girls from religious minority backgrounds, condemning acts such as forced religious conversions, abduction, trafficking, child marriages, and sexual violence.
Of particular concern were the cases of forced marriages and conversions, which were sometimes validated by the courts under the pretext of ‘love marriages’, leaving victims vulnerable and denying them the right to return to their families.
The experts underscored that child, early, and forced marriages could not be justified on religious or cultural grounds, asserting that consent was irrelevant when the victim was below 18, in accordance with international law.
While the legal marriage age in Pakistan is 16 for girls and 18 for boys, the experts stressed the importance of a woman’s right to freely choose her spouse and enter into marriage, highlighting the need for robust legal protections.
They called for measures to invalidate or dissolve marriages contracted under duress, ensuring access to justice, remedy, and protection for victims. Additionally, they urged Pakistan to raise the minimum age for marriage to 18 for both girls and boys.
The experts emphasized that all women and girls, regardless of their religious or ethnic background, should be treated without discrimination and called on Pakistani authorities to rigorously enforce laws to protect their rights.
Urging Pakistan to uphold its international human rights obligations, the experts called for stringent enforcement of legal protections against child marriage, abduction, and trafficking of minority women and girls.
