On the morning of January 11, the marriage ceremony of 12-year-old *Saman Saleem was going on in a house in Chak 236 RB, near Faisalabad when Roshan Wala police raided and detained the bridegroom, *Arif Bashir, his father Bashir and the girl’s brother *Tufail Saleem. The nikkahkhwan and others escaped arrest.

Later, the police registered a case under the Child Marriage Restraint Act of 1929 and remanded the arrested accused.

Investigation officer of this case, Sub-Inspector Ubaid Ullah said that the girl’s father. Saleem had died a few weeks ago.

He said that the premises were raided because the police were tipped by Muhammad Mushtaq, the minor’s uncle. He said that the accused individuals had been jailed on judicial remand and that a search was under way for the rest of the culprits.

Mushtaq alleged that his nephew wanted to get his young sister married to a 40-year-old man.

A similar incident took place on October 10, 2023, in the Satiana area, where the police raided Chak434 GB, rescued a ten-year-old bride and handed her over to her family.

According to the investigating officer of the case, SI Muhammad Naveed, this action was taken on the information that, two weeks ago, the parents of the girl named *Mehru had married her to 30-year-old Ismail Jatoi.

He said that the police had conducted an immediate rescue operation and arrested the bridegroom *Ashfaq Raheem and the nikahkhawan, *Maulvi Saqib. “We registered a case against them under the Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929, and Section 342 of the Pakistan Penal Code,” said Naveed, adding that the case was currently being heard.

It should be noted that the marriage of girls below 16 years of age is prohibited in the Punjab. However, due to various reasons, cases of early marriages continue to come up.

According to the data obtained from the Punjab Police under the Right to Information Act 2013, a total of 146 cases* under the Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929, were registered in the province between January 2019 and December 2023.

Faisalabad topped the list with 15 cases. Besides, 13 cases from Bahawalpur, 11 from Multan, 11 from Sargodha, 9 from Lahore, 9 from Sahiwal, 8 from Sheikhupura, 8 from Lodhran, 7 from Vehari, 6 from Okara, 6 from Kasur, 6 from Rahim Yar Khan, 5 from Attock, 5 from Khanewal, 4 from Jhelum, 4 from Narowal, 3 from Rajanpur, 3 from DG Khan, 2 from Jhang, 2 from Pakpattan, 2 from Muzaffargarh, 2 from Chakwal, 2 from Layyah, 2 from Gujarat and one case were reported from Hafizabad.

According to the data obtained from the Faisalabad Police under the Right to Information Act, 11 cases of child marriage were reported during the five years and 30 suspects arrested.

The challan in eight cases has been completed. Three cases have been dismissed due to reconciliation between the parents of the girls and the accused.

None of the accused has been convicted and sentenced.

Forced marriages and conversions

Another problem related to early marriages in Faisalabad and the Punjab is the cases of kidnapping and forced marriages and conversion of young girls from the Christian community.

According to a report prepared by Voice for Justice, a non-governmental organisation, over 100 cases of abduction, forced marriage and conversion of young girls belonging to the Christian community were reported between January 2019 and October 2022.

According to this report, 86 cases of forced marriage and conversion of young Christian girls occurred in the Punjab; 11 cases were reported in Sindh; 2 in Islamabad; and 1 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. No such cases were reported from Balochistan.

According to the report, 67 percent of the cases were reported from five districts: Lahore, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Sheikhupura and Karachi. The highest numbers of such incidents in the Punjab was reported in Faisalabad (21) and Lahore (21).

The report shows that 61 percent of girls were victimised before reaching the age of 16, while 18 percent of the cases involved girls between the ages of 16 and 18.

In June 2020, in Faisalabad, a 13-year-old Christian girl, *Maryum Masih was kidnapped by a 45-year-old man, *Akber Nadeem, who forcibly married her.

In this case, with the financial support of the Christian community, after a court battle that lasted for more than a year, the victim girl was recovered. The accused is yet to be prosecuted.

*Maryum Masih’s lawyer, Imtiaz Ahmad Venus Advocate said that, after the girl’s recovery, the family did not pursue the case, due to which the accused could not be punished. “During the hearing of the case, the accused tried to give a religious colour to the matter due to which the heirs of the girl got scared. After the recovery of the girl, they left Faisalabad and went to another city,” he said.

Faisalabad Police DSP Legal, Shahzad Aliana, says that most child marriages involve the consent of the girl’s family, so despite the police action, they either reconcile with the accused or settle the cases.

It should be noted that the minimum age for marriage in the Punjab is 16 years for a girl and 18 years for a boy. Under the Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929, a maximum fine of Rs 1,000 and one month imprisonment was awarded to those involved in this crime. This was amended by the Punjab Assembly in March 2015.

Under this amendment, the fine for the bridegroom or guardian was increased from Rs 1,000 to Rs 50,000 and the imprisonment term was increased from one month to six months.

Human rights organisations have demand that the minimum age of marriage for both boys and girls should be set at 18 years and that the fines and imprisonment for those involved in child marriage should be increased.

Shazia George, executive director of the Association of Women for Awareness and Motivation said that incidents of kidnapping, forced marriages and conversions of young Christian girls were worrisome. “The affected girls have to face severe physical and psychological problems,” she said.

“Incidences of abduction and forced marriage and conversion of young girls affect their education and personal freedom. They also face hatred and discrimination from the family of the accused,” she said.

“In such cases, the age of the abducted girls is declared to be 16 years or more by the accused to avoid punishment under the Child Marriage Restraint Act, of 1929. Minor girls are made to appear adult and economically independent and are married off in the absence of legal guardians (parents). Frequently, they are subjected to physical and sexual violence,” she said.

She said that during the ongoing election campaign in the country, the leaders of the political parties should te4ll people how they plan to prevent forced marriages. “There’s an urgent need for reforms in the civil and criminal justice system so that incidents of forced marriage and conversion can be prevented,” she said.

“A bill should be passed to amend the Child Marriage Restraint Act to ensure that the minimum age of marriage in the Punjab is set at 18 so that it applies equally to boys and girls.” She also

Peter Jacob, executive director of the Center for Social Justice, said that the police were discriminating against victims of the Christian community.

“Abductions, forced marriages, and conversions of girls belonging to religious minorities are no secret. To date, in no such case have the police approached the victims belonging to the minorities. To have the cases registered, we have to petition the courts,” he said.

“For too long, official denial of facts closely related to a culture of secrecy and lack of transparency has protected these types of crimes and abuses found in the system,” said Jacob.

He said that to highlight the importance of solving this problem, Minority Forum Pakistan was conducting an awareness campaign titled “Maini be Pakistan hoon“ across the country. The campaign calls for legislation to prevent child marriage and forced conversion.

*The instances of child marriage outlined specifically exclude cases of forced marriages and conversions involving non-Muslim girls following abduction. These particular cases are officially recorded under Section 265B, which addresses the kidnapping of minors, within the Pakistan Penal Code.

*Names have been changed to protect identity

The writer has been associated with journalism for the past decade. He tweets

@ naeemahmad876