Islamabad:
The National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR), in collaboration with the Legal Aid Society (LAS), launched a research report and a documentary on Monday examining the engines of forced conversions through marriages (FCM) and their impact on survivors, minority communities and broader society.
The launch took place during a national dialogue in Islamabad, which brought together legal experts, rights activists and criminal justice professionals in order to discuss the practical stages to solve the problem. Judge Dr Syed Muhammad Anwer attended the ceremony as a chief guest.
The report, presented by the director of LAS, Maliha Zia, is based on the testimonies of the survivors and clarifies the concepts of “strength” and “consent” in the event of FCM.
He classifies the motivations of the authors – including religious and ideological factors, traffic, as well as the vulnerabilities of survivors, especially women and girls in minority communities. A documentary by filmmaker Aisha Gazdar was also projected by highlighting the human dimension of forced conversions and marriages.
The president of the NCHR, Rabiya Javeri Agha, said that practice is a “deeply anchored problem” in Pakistan, affecting the girls and women of minority communities despite constitutional guarantees.
She noted that the commission had taken opinions from Suo Motu in several cases where minor girls were removed, forcibly converted and married to their kidnappers. In some cases, they have received relief thanks to the intervention of NCHR.
CEO Las Haya Emaan Zahid warned that FCM survivors are often faced with serious psychological trauma, physical and sexual abuses and social stigmatization. “This practice devastates not only individuals but also undermines community solidarity and damages culture,” she said.
The event ended with a round table where experts and activists exchanged ideas and underlined the need for stronger protection mechanisms to protect the rights of minorities in Pakistan.
