By Cissie Zhang —
In a landmark case in Pakistan, an 11-year-old Christian girl who was abducted and forcibly married to a Muslim man has been ordered divorced and restored to her family by the High Court in Punjab.
“This is just a new day. Incredibly exciting. And unexpected,” says International Christian Concern president Jeff King. “This is truly a historic ruling for Pakistan.”
With an Islamic constitution and an almost 99% Muslim population, Pakistan had been a hotbed for Christian persecution. Since sharia law permits child brides, local Muslims have been known to kidnap girls, force them to convert to Islam and marry them.
Such barbarism is being targeted by the European Union, which is pressuring law enforcement and the courts in Pakistan to end the practice of child brides and the oppression of the Christian minority.
Often, police play deaf to the Christians, King says. With the courts, it’s a somewhat different situation. Usually, the judges are Western-educated and share Western values. The problem then becomes one of courage. Judges who annul sharia practices get targeted by Muslim radicals for assassination. They fear for their lives.
There are thousands of girls who are being exploited by the kidnap/convert/marry-under-sharia cultural norm, King says. These girls are essentially raped, sometimes drugged. They completely exploited and powerless to do anything about it, he adds.
The fact that one court finally annulled one of these arrangements MAY signal a change for the nation.
“It’s moving at a glacial pace,” King says. “I wouldn’t expect that it changes overnight but this is a real break from the past.”
The recent decision to free Shahida Bibi comes a decade after her marriage, forced upon her when she was 11 years old.
The origin of her strange case starts with the elopement of her mother with a Muslim man. That man later “gave” Shahida in marriage to his brother.
Pakistan has laws banning such practices, but the culture of sharia often prevails over those laws.
“This is a defining moment for Pakistan’s Christians,” King says. “Shahida Bibi’s story — from abduction at 11 to freedom after years of torment — exposes the brutality these girls face. ICC applauds the Punjab court and its fearless judges, who’ve put themselves in the line of fire from radicals to deliver justice. This could spark real change for a community crying out for protection.”
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