Pakistani court rules marriage of abducted 13-year-old Christian girl legal

Statue of Themis against the background of Pakistan's flag. Photo: ORF

On March 25, 2026, Pakistan’s Federal Constitutional Court recognized as valid the forced marriage of 13-year-old Christian girl Maria Shahbaz to a 30-year-old Muslim man and ordered the girl to return to her abductor. This was reported by the Christian rights organization Open Doors.

Maria Shahbaz was abducted in July 2025, when she was 12 years old. After the abduction, she was forcibly converted to Islam and married off to a man three times her age. The girl’s father filed a petition demanding his daughter’s return, and the court proceedings dragged on for several months. The legal age for marriage in Pakistan’s Punjab province, where the events took place, is 18 for both sexes.

The court ruling sparked a wave of protests across the country. Human rights organizations accused the court of ignoring key evidence proving the illegality of the marriage.

An Open Doors representative called on Pakistani authorities to “take immediate measures to protect all minors regardless of religion,” warning that such a precedent could influence lower-court rulings and endanger other girls.

As the UOJ reported, the EU had called on Pakistan to abolish its blasphemy law and forced marriages.

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