*‘Stolen Girls’: Data from new report shows average victim of forced conversions is only 12 years old
A detailed report called Stolen Girls, presented at the European Parliament by the Jubilee Campaign, exposes the tragic reality facing hundreds of young Christian girls in Pakistan. Between 2019 and 2025, at least 210 cases of abduction, forced conversion, and child marriage were reported; Over 83% of victims are children (average age: 12.8 years), 96% have their names forcibly changed, stripping away their identity and making them nearly impossible to trace; and 92% of marriage contracts involve age falsification to bypass child marriage laws. The gap between the victim and perpetrator is also huge in most of the cases.
LAHORE: A comprehensive data dossier unveiled at the European Parliament a few days earlier, has exposed a systematic, nationwide pattern of abduction, forced religious conversion, child marriage, and sexual violence targeting minority Christian girls across Pakistan.
The report titled ‘Stolen Girls’, was presented by minority rights activist Joseph Janssen, under the Jubilee Campaign, “A Vital Voice Campaign”, documents 210 verified cases occurring between 2019 and 2025, revealing a structured cycle of legal evasion, documentary fraud, and state-sanctioned impunity.
Key findings & statistical overview (2019–2025)
The investigative report reveals that forced conversions are not isolated criminal acts, but a widespread crisis driven by institutional loopholes and organized exploitation.
FORCED CONVERSIONS BY YEAR (2019–2025)
50 ┤ 44 (21.0%)
40 ┤ ┌──┐ 40 (19.0%)
30 ┤ 28 (13.3%) │ │ 26 (12.4%) ┌──┐ 31 (14.8%)
20 ┤ ┌──┐ 14 (6.7%) │ │ ┌──┐ │ │ ┌──┐
10 ┤ │ │ ┌──┐ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │
0 ┴───────────────┴──┴──────────┴──┴─────┴──┴────┴──┴──────┴──┴────────┴──┴────
2019 2020 2021 2022 2024 2025
Geographic Breakdown: Punjab as the Epicenter
Out of 210 documented cases, 88.60% (186 cases) occurred in Punjab Province, followed by Sindh with 10.50% (22 cases), and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with 1.00% (2 cases).
Ten “hotspot districts” account for 86.40% (173 cases) of all reported occurrences:
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Lahore: 53 cases (25.2%)
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Faisalabad: 39 cases (18.6%)
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Gujranwala: 16 cases (7.6%)
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Karachi: 14 cases (6.7%)
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Sheikhupura: 13 cases (6.2%)
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Kasur & Islamabad/Rawalpindi: 9 cases each (4.3%)
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Bahawalpur & Sialkot: 7 cases each (3.3%)
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Okara: 6 cases (2.9%)
Extreme age disparities & minor victimization
The findings highlight that children bear the overwhelming brunt of these crimes. Over 83% of victims are minors under the age of 18 years. The report reveals that 134 children between 14–17 years (63.8%) were made victims of this crime, 41 children below 14 years (19.5%); while above 18 years, there were 35 victims (16.7%).
Shockingly the average age of the victims was around 12.8 years, while the average perpetrator age was 35.8 years (ranging from 21 to 60 years). The age gap is extreme and the average age gap was recorded to be 23 years, with several documented cases exceeding a 30-year age gap between the child and perpetrator.
Mechanics of documentary fraud: Erasing identity
The report exposes three primary mechanisms utilized by abductors, registrars, and local religious entities to bypass child protection laws and judicial scrutiny:
| Mechanism | Statistical Impact | Execution Method |
| Age Falsification | 92% of cases |
Victim’s true age (average 14.8 years) is explicitly fabricated to 18, 19, or 20 years (average 18.7 years) on marriage contracts (Nikah Nama) to bypass Child Marriage Restraint laws. |
| Identity Obliteration | 96% of cases |
Victims are forcibly assigned new Islamic names (e.g., Ayesha, Fatima, Khadija, Zehra, Haleema, Amna, Zainab, Tayyaba) on conversion certificates, stripping away their religious heritage and rendering legal tracking by parents nearly impossible. |
| Seminary & NGO Exploitation | Systematic |
Religious certificates are routinely issued by unauthorized local political actors, religious organizations, and unregulated welfare NGOs operating outside statutory legal frameworks. |
Documented evidence & case studies
The report details official documentation, legal filings, and marriage contracts that demonstrate systemic administrative failures:
Maria Shahbaz, 13, Lahore
The case was registered at Nawab Town Police Station under PPC Section 365-B (abduction). However it ended dismally for the parents of the girl. Despite a defective marriage certificate (Nikah Nama), lacking an official identity card number (CNIC) and falsely listing the 13-year-old child as a self-sufficient adult, court rulings awarded legal custody of the minor girl to her purported husband/abductor rather than her parents. [The case on basis of a review petition was readmitted recently in Islamabad High Court.]
Yarosha Saleem, 11, Sheikhupura
The report reveals the case had a delayed police response. Police delayed registering an FIR (No. 1569/24) for six months following her abduction from Ferozewala. Eventually filed under PPC Section 498-B (forced marriage) and Sections 4 & 5 of the Child Marriage Restraint Act.
Laiba Sohail, 10, Faisalabad
The marriage contract recorded Laiba’s date of birth as 20-04-2007 (fabricating her age to make her appear as an adult). The document lacked her mandatory national identity card number (CNIC) and fraudulently described her as ‘self-sufficient’.
Conversion certificates via welfare organizations & political groups
Nisha Abbas (Age 14 — Lahore) – Converted by the New Muslim Welfare Association Pakistan, assigned the Islamic name “Maryam,” and was falsely declared 18 years old.
Chashman Kanwal (Faisalabad) – Issued a conversion certificate by local political/religious group Pakistan Sunni Tehreek (Sahiwal branch), renaming her “Ayesha” and declaring her an adult.
The 6-Stage Pattern of Abuse & Impunity
[1] ABDUCTION ──► [2] FORCED CONVERSION ──► [3] MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE
Kidnapped or Coerced/threatened Fabricated Nikah Nama
lured away to convert issued
│
▼
[4] SEC 164 STATEMENT ──► [5] COURT PROCEEDINGS ──► [6] IMPUNITY
Coerced testimony Courts accept forged Perpetrators go
before Magistrate docs & coerced statements free; child retained
The report identified a six step systemic cycle that denies justice and perpetuates impunity. At the first stage, according to this, the child kidnapped or groomed, and lured away from her home, school, or workplace. This is abduction.
Forced conversion of the girl follows, where she is pressured, threatened, or coerced into converting to Islam. In the third stage a marriage is forcibly conducted, and a fabricated Nikah Nama is generated.
In the fourth stage, coerced while under the perpetrator’s control, the victim is brought before a magistrate to state under Section 164 (CrPC) that she left home voluntarily and everything that followed came about of her own free will.
In the fifth stage, court proceedings are revealed to overlook evidence of the age and of coercion and courts routinely accept the recorded statement and fraudulent marriage documents..
In the last stage is that if Legal custody is handed to the abductor, perpetrators face no penalty, and the child’s identity remains erased.
Urgent Demands & Policy Recommendations
The report highlights dozens of missing minority girls whose whereabouts and living conditions require urgent governmental and legal clarification, including Maria Shahbaz, Nisha Abbas, Amber Nadeem, Sataish Mariam, Jessica Ashfaq, Saneha Sharif, Saneha Meghwar, Radha Bheel, Kajol Meghwar, and Najo Kohli, among others.
To break this repeating cycle, human rights advocates presented seven actionable demands to international lawmakers and Pakistani authorities:
Criminalize coerced conversion: Enact strict statutory legislation specifically defining and penalizing forced religious conversions.
Void underage marriages: Nullify all marriage contracts involving children under the age of 18 without exception.
Mandatory electronic age verification: Mandate official government identification (such as NADRA birth records) as the sole legal standard for age verification prior to issuing marriage contracts.
Judicial & law enforcement accountability: Conduct independent investigations into police inaction and court rulings that validate fraudulent documents.
Protect survivors: Establish safe shelters (Dar-ul-Aman), legal aid, and psychological rehabilitation independent of perpetrator influence.
Judicial safeguards: Ensure statements taken under Section 164 CrPC are conducted free from intimidation or abductor control.
Institutional training: Implement mandatory training programs on child protection laws for judges, police officers, and marriage registrars (Nikah Registrars).
Source – voicepk.net, July 29, 2026.
