15-year-old kidnapped, married after forced conversion, says mother

KARACHI: Venus’ 15-year-old daughter was allegedly kidnapped, was forced to change her religion, and enter into a marriage against her will.

Four months on, the mother of five has still not been able to recover her daughter.

In a press conference at the Madadgaar Office, Venus, who is a resident of Christian colony, said a man named Shahzad had kidnapped her daughter four months ago. She said that he forced her to change her religion and married her forcefully.

Venus urged the government and police to recover her daughter.

Underage marriages and forced conversions are a blemish on our society, says human rights activist and lawyer Zia Awan. He adds that all stakeholders, including the government, need to take serious steps to end the practice.  

Awan said that the Sindh Assembly had passed a bill against child marriages and forced conversions few months back but implementation is yet to be seen.