Mr. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari
Foreign Minister of Pakistan
Islamabad, Pakistan
Open Letter: Call to protect minority girls against child marriages and forced conversions, particularly Zarvia Pervaiz
Honorable Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari,
We wanted to raise the case of Zarvia Pervaiz with you, especially in light of your address on 11 August 2022 to the minority convention, reaffirming your commitment to taking practical and legal measures to protect minorities against human rights violations and abuses, and to addressing the phenomenon of forced conversion, on the occasion of 75th anniversary of the legislative assembly of Pakistan, coinciding with Pakistan’s national minorities’ day, in remembrance of the Jinnah’s address to the constituent assembly on 11 August 1947 that promised equality of rights for all Pakistani citizens without any discrimination.
The forced conversion and child marriage of girls from religious minorities is a matter of grave concern due to the lack of legal and administrative safeguards to protect minorities against forced conversions in Pakistan, which places girls from minority communities at high risk of abuse and deprives them of their fundamental rights.
It is extremely worrying that the criminal elements continue to perpetrate abduction, rape, and illegal marriages of mostly underaged Hindu and Christian girls with impunity under the facade of faith conversions. The police and judiciary continue to facilitate the perpetrators involved in abducting minor girls, by overlooking the laws of the land, progressive jurisprudence, and international standards of human rights and access to justice. The discriminatory practice in the investigation and trial emboldens the perpetrators to take away the underage minority girls from their parents for a lifetime, which leaves the issue unaddressed and makes the status quo prevail.
The case of a minor Christian girl from Rawalpindi, Zarvia Pervaiz is an absolute example of the miscarriage of justice that minorities face in Pakistan. She was abducted by a Muslim couple, Imran Shahzad and Adiba from her home on 30 April 2022. She was forcibly converted to Islam, and forcibly married to Imran (the captor).
An FIR (No. 1189/22) under section 365-B[1] of the Pakistan Penal Code was registered against Imran, Adiba, and their abettor Liaquat, with Sadiqabad Police Station in Rawalpindi on 1 May 2022. The Police arrested all three accused and recovered Zarvia, and presented them before the court. On 14 May 2022, the Judicial Magistrate Rawalpindi issued an order to discharge and release the accused in this case, on the basis of Zarvia’s statement under duress.
In July, a Habeas Corpus petition under section 491 of the Criminal Procedure Code was filed for the recovery of Zarvia Pervaiz from the illegal custody of Imran Shahzad and Adiba, which was dismissed by the honorable Judge at the Rawalpindi Bench of the Lahore High Court. In August, a written petition under Article 199 of the Constitution of Pakistan was filed, and the recorded phone calls of Zarvia to her family were presented before the court, wherein she unequivocally stated that She was forcibly abducted, married, and converted. She does not want to stay with her captors and wants to rejoin her parents. Her abductors threatened to kill her brothers. Due to the threats, Zarvia made a statement in court under Section 164 of the CrPC before the Magistrate in favor of the perpetrators.”
Unfortunately, the honorable Judge ignored the evidence presented by Zarvia’s family, and relied upon Zarvia’s statement in court, which was given under duress, along with fraudulent marriage and conversion certificates presented by the perpetrators, and issued an order to dismiss the petition.
The court order is a violation of the Child Marriage Restraint Act, according to which the marriage of a girl below 16 years of age is illegal. Sadly, this happens frequently as the legal provisions prohibiting child and forced marriages are not effectively applied by police in Pakistan. The courts are reluctant to protect minor girls from minority communities, despite the existence of progressive jurisprudence that should be relied upon for the delivery of justice. For instance, the ruling of February 2022 passed by the Islamabad High Court[2] held that “the marriage of children under the age of 18 is unlawful, even contracted of their own free will”. In another ruling of August 2019 passed by the Lahore High Court held[3] that “Minor children are not sui juris, and lack legal capacity to change the religion on their own.
Pakistan is a party to international human rights treaties including; the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (CCPR), Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), and Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), which express prohibit child marriage[4], separation of children from Parents[5], and protects the right to religious freedom and decision-making by parents for their children[6].
Keeping in view Pakistan’s commitment to the implementation of human rights obligations, the federal and provincial governments must take the following measures to address forced conversion, child, and forced marriage.
- Ensure that Zarvia Pervaiz is recovered from the captivity of the perpetrators, and her custody is given to her parents.
- Ensure that perpetrators are brought to justice using the existing protections in the laws including safeguards against sexual violence, child and forced marriage to prevent the miscarriage of justice.
- Ensure that forced faith conversion is criminalized through protective legislation, including safeguards against child marriages, and violations of the age verification process.
- Ensure that faith conversions are regulated, and testified by a competent court, and the statement of the minor girls is recorded not in open court but in the chamber of the judge, to mitigate coercive efforts by abductors.
- Ensure that the cases involving allegations of faith conversions are investigated and prosecuted under sections 364-A[7] and 498-B[8] of the Pakistan Penal Code.
Honorable Foreign Minister, we, the undersigned organizations, appreciate you for reaffirming your commitment to addressing discrimination, inequality, oppression, and injustice in all its forms, and call upon you to encourage the federal and provincial governments to take meaningful and decisive action to put an end to the forced conversion and marriage of girls and women from religious minorities particularly Christians and Hindus
Yours faithfully,
Jubilee Campaign – USA
Voice for Justice EU
Set My People Free – Sweden
Jubilee Campaign – Netherlands
