The European Parliament has adopted a resolution condemning the abduction, forced conversion and child marriage of Maria Shahbaz, while calling for stronger protection of girls from Pakistan’s religious and caste-marginalised communities.
The resolution, adopted on 9 July 2026, concerns the case of Maria Shahbaz, a Christian girl from Lahore who was reportedly 13 when she was abducted, forced to convert to Islam and married to her abductor. In March 2026, Pakistan’s Federal Constitutional Court upheld the conversion and marriage, despite documentary evidence concerning her age and allegations that her statements had been obtained under coercion.
The resolution describes the case as part of a persistent pattern of abduction, forced conversion and forced marriage affecting underage girls from Hindu, Christian and other religious minorities. It calls on Pakistan to investigate such cases independently, prosecute perpetrators, ensure the safe return of abducted girls and provide victims with legal assistance, psychological support and safe shelters.
The European Parliament also calls on the EU and its Member States to raise forced conversions, forced marriages and minority protection systematically in their dialogue with Pakistan, including through monitoring of Pakistan’s access to the EU’s Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus. It states that failure to implement human rights obligations, including women’s and children’s rights, should have consequences for Pakistan’s GSP+ status.
Importantly, the resolution explicitly recognises discrimination based on caste, gender and religion among the root causes that Pakistan must address. It calls for targeted protection measures for girls from minority communities facing intersecting discrimination, including improved access to education and social protection.
Access to justice remains a central concern. In many cases girls’ ages are disregarded, allegations of coercion are not properly investigated and statements made in the presence or under the influence of alleged abductors were accepted as evidence of consent. Although legislative initiatives have sought to prevent forced conversion and child marriage, implementation has remained weak and previous proposals for stronger protections have faced political and religious opposition.
This recognition is particularly significant for Dalit girls. IDSN submissions in the past to the United Nations, which have been regularly shared with EU institutions including the European Parliament, have documented how forced conversion and marriage disproportionately affect Dalit girls, who whose vulnerability is compounded by caste, gender, religion, poverty, and marginalisation. Reported cases frequently involve abduction or deception, sexual violence, forced marriage and the presentation of the conversion as voluntary, while families encounter serious barriers when seeking police protection or judicial remedies.
The European Parliament’s own awareness of, and work on, caste is accelerating. Very recently, in April 2026, Pirbhu Satyani of the Pakistan Dalit Solidarity Network highlighted these same issues during the EP hearing on caste in South Asia, and had called on Pakistan to criminalise caste-based discrimination and enforce laws to prevent forced religious conversion and forced marriages. In the same hearing, UN Special Rapporteur on Racism, Ashwini KP, had sensitised MEPs on the intersecting and compounding forces of marginalisation created by gender and caste and that recognising this would align with the EU’s own anti-discrimination policies.
A delegation of Dalit activists invited by IDSN also recently visited Brussels and met key decision makers to inform them of the situation regarding minority girls and women in Pakistan, highlighting that while the estimated number of girls abducted and converted into Islam each year varies from 100 to 1000, nearly half are aged 14–18 and a quarter are under the age of 14. Due to fear of abduction, parents often withdraw girls from school or arrange early marriages, and in some cases, stigma, threats and intimidation force entire families to relocate.
IDSN welcomes the resolution and proposals to take action to end forced conversions in Pakistan.
Read the full EP Resolution: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-10-2026-0269_EN.html
For more information see IDSNs UN submissions on the issue of forced conversions and forced marriages in Pakistan: