Professor Thomas Schirrmacher, President of the International Council of the International Society for Human Rights (ISHR), has denounced the frequent toleration of forced and child marriages by Pakistani authorities in a statement. Young girls, especially those from Christian and Hindu minority groups, are particularly vulnerable to such crimes. “Although national laws against child and forced marriages exist, they are often not consistently enforced due to societal pressure and a lack of implementation by the authorities,” he said. Schirrmacher recalled the scandalous ruling by the Supreme Court of Pakistan on March 25, 2026, which upheld the “marriage” between a kidnapped 13-year-old Christian girl and her 30-year-old abductor. The ISHR has had information for several years indicating that Islamist networks offer rewards for such crimes.

Screenshot of the event during Thomas Schirrmacher’s speech

Schirrmacher also reported that in Egypt, young Coptic (Christian) girls repeatedly disappeared and were forced to officially declare their conversion to Islam and enter into marriage with a Muslim man, usually significantly older. The authorities frequently denied the coercion, however, and consequently the perpetrators went unpunished. Schirrmacher emphasized that these fatal attacks against minorities, involving the abduction of girls and forced marriage, are often used as weapons of war and terror in ethnic and religious conflicts.

The full statement can also be found here.