Justice for Shahida Bibi: ADF International’s Legal Victory Against Forced Marriage

In a significant step for religious freedom in Pakistan, 18-year-old Shahida Bibi has been released from a forced marriage after a court decision that allows her to return to both her father and her Christian faith.

The civil court in Bahawalpur, Pakistan issued the decree in February 2025, dissolving Bibi’s forced marriage and ensuring her identification documents correctly state her religion as Christianity. The case was supported by ADF International and allied attorneys who provided Bibi’s legal defense.

A Childhood Stolen

Bibi’s ordeal began when she was just 11 years old. After her mother eloped with a Muslim man, Bibi was “given” to this man’s brother. By the time she turned 18, she had already given birth to two children. Her captor then formalized an Islamic Nikah (marriage union) with her upon her reaching adulthood, apparently to avoid prosecution under Pakistan’s anti-child marriage laws.

Part of a Wider Problem

According to UNICEF, approximately 100 million girls worldwide face the risk of forced marriage over the next decade. In Pakistan specifically, more than 1,000 girls from religious minorities are forced into both conversion and marriage annually.

This dual threat particularly affects Christian girls like Bibi, who are often coerced into changing their religion to validate their marriages in Sharia courts. Under Sharia law, which permits marriage at puberty, the marriage age can be lower than Pakistan’s official marriage age (which varies between 16-18 years depending on the state).

International Pressure Mounting

The ruling in Bibi’s case comes amid increasing international scrutiny of Pakistan’s human rights record. In January 2025, European Union officials warned Pakistan that its trade relations could be jeopardized if it fails to address human rights violations, including blasphemy laws and forced conversions targeting religious minorities.

Additionally, in 2024, a bipartisan U.S. Senate resolution called for leveraging diplomatic and sanctions tools to hold religious freedom violators accountable, specifically mentioning Pakistan’s forced marriages and conversions.

“Nobody should suffer the horrors of abduction and forced marriage, further being forced to give up their faith,” said Tehmina Arora, Director of Advocacy, Asia for ADF International. “We are grateful that Shahida Bibi has received justice over her captor. Shahida is now free and able to begin the process of healing from this ordeal.”

Arora added that Pakistan’s government should implement a uniform marriage age to prevent such forced kidnappings and marriages, ensuring their laws align with international commitments to protect religious freedom.

This case represents a crucial victory in the ongoing struggle for the rights of religious minorities in Pakistan, particularly for women and girls who face multiple layers of vulnerability.