Amritsar: The National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR), Pakistan, has raised serious concerns over the growing pattern of ‘forced conversion through marriage’ (FCM), a practice that overwhelmingly affects Hindu girls from economically disadvantaged families.According to the Pakistan NHRC report, available online, these cases are not isolated incidents but part of a recurring pattern in which vulnerable minority Hindu girls are coerced into embracing Islam and marrying Muslim men without their free and informed consent.The report highlights that most victims are young Hindu girls from rural areas of Sindh and southern Punjab, where poverty, social exclusion, and limited access to education make them particularly vulnerable.Perpetrators often identify girls from marginalised families, establish contact through deception or emotional manipulation, and gradually isolate them from their families. Once removed from their homes, the girls are reportedly abducted or pressured into marriages, followed by declarations of religious conversion presented as voluntary, said the report.It also noted that certain religious clerics publicly celebrated such conversions as victories for Islam, creating an environment that legitimises the practice. In many cases, religious institutions issue conversion certificates that carry little or no legal validity but are used to portray forced conversions as lawful. This not only shields perpetrators from accountability but also reinforces fear among minority communities that their daughters are unsafe, the report added.The Pakistan NCHR identified “ideologically motivated sexual grooming” as one of the principal drivers behind these cases. Vulnerable girls facing poverty, family instability, or social discrimination are deliberately targeted through emotional manipulation, false promises of protection, or claims of love. The commission also pointed to trafficking and sexual exploitation as significant dimensions of the FCM, with some girls allegedly being forced into exploitative marriages that conceal broader patterns of abuse.Economic deprivation remains a critical factor. The report observed that many conversions occur not from genuine religious conviction but from desperation. For girls trapped in poverty, caste-based discrimination, or domestic violence, conversion may appear to offer shelter, security, or social acceptance. Such “conversions for shelter”, however, are rooted in survival rather than free choice, raising serious questions about the validity of consent, stated the report.Beyond individual victims, the Pakistan NHRC warned that FCM served as a means of intimidation against entire minority communities. Acts of sexual violence, coercion, and forced marriage are used not only to control young girls but also to instil fear and reinforce the social vulnerability of religious minorities. Despite constitutional guarantees of religious freedom and personal liberty, weak law enforcement, delayed justice, and the influence of powerful local actors continue to enable these violations, leaving many Hindu families without effective legal protection, the report added.
