A 13 year-old Christian girl who was abducted, forced to convert to Islam and married off to her 30 year-old abductor, is seeking justice in the Pakistani courts.

Maria Shahbaz has been “exposed to grave abuse and exploitation”, according to Alliance Defending Freedom International (ADF) which is supporting her case and calling for an end to forced marriages and conversions in Pakistan. 

A previous hearing in February went against Pakistani law in returning custody to Shahbaz’s abductor. The court did not confirm her age, a requirement as a minor cannot consent to conversion or marriage. A previous investigation had also found the marriage certificate to be forged. 

“The court that is due to hear this case has an opportunity to correct a serious injustice. Maria is a child. She was abducted, her documents were found to be forged, and the court handed her back to the man who took her — without even confirming her age. That cannot be allowed to stand,” said Lazar Allah Rakha, a local lawyer.

The European Parliament has called for Shahbaz’s return to her family, condemning the wider pattern of human rights abuses against Christian and Hindu girls in a resolution adopted on Thursday.

More than 1,000 underage girls are thought to be forced into conversion and marriage through abduction each year, with local authorities accused of being complicit in forging documents and ignoring the legal age for marriage set at 18. 

Tehmina Arora, ADF’s Asia director of advocacy, said: “Throughout Pakistan, the pattern of abductions, forced conversions, and coerced marriages of underage girls to much older men is alarming. Hundreds of girls each year find themselves victims of these sham marriages, losing their personal freedoms and facing exploitation and abuse.

Maria is only 13 years old, yet she has been through more than any child should ever have to face. The court must now do what is right by granting her freedom and establishing a precedent that will protect vulnerable young girls from these horrific acts.”