Pakistan (MNN) — Last month, human rights activists celebrated a new law in Pakistan that sets the legal age for marriage at 18 — applying only to the capital Islamabad territory. 

But Nehemiah* with FMI offers a sobering reality check. A similar 2013 law in Pakistan’s Sindh territory hasn’t stopped child marriages from occurring or deterred those who ignored the law. 

“Sindh police disclosed recently that from 2018 to 2024, only 30 convictions under the child marriage law were recorded out of 272 First Information Reports,” Nehemiah says. (First Information Reports are the initial legal document filed when a crime is reported to the police. They are a crucial starting point for a criminal investigation and provide a record of the alleged offense.)

Islamic leaders argue that under Sharia law, puberty — not age — is the deciding factor for marriage readiness. They’re already challenging this new law.

“The petition has been filed against the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Law and Justice, and the Council of Islamic ideology as respondents,” says Nehemiah. “The petitioner, who is a law firm in Pakistan, says that [it] is in clear conflict and objectionable to Sharia; that is why it needs to be declared un-Islamic, unconstitutional and against the fundamental[s] of Islam.”

(Photo Courtesy FMI for MNN use.) Christian girl in Pakistan.

Even if the law stands, he says, powerful religious parties have the louder voice. “The people of Pakistan, they are followers of these parties, and whatever their imams say, they follow that. So this law does not really matter.” 

Here’s the more sinister layer: Each year, an estimated 1,000 girls from religious minorities in Pakistan — including Christians — are kidnapped, forcibly converted to Islam, and married off. Consider the stories of Huma, Shahida, and Alina. 

In all these complexities, pray for God’s wisdom and strength for Pakistani Christians under intense pressures. 

“We have encouraged and educated our church planters — brothers and sisters who work with FMI — how to respond in a [kidnapping] situation,” Nehemiah says. They have connected with psychologists, human rights experts, and people who work for the Child Protection Bureau in Pakistan. 

Here are prayer requests from Christians in Pakistan:

“Please pray for [one man’s] congregation that they understand that it’s not okay to let the girls go into forced marriages, into forced conversions. [Pray for] the sense of protection and the sense of identity,” says Nehemiah.

“Please pray for wisdom for church planters as they address the sensitive issue of child marriage in their communities. When Muslim men come and kidnap their girls in the Christian communities, please pray for them that they handle the situation according to the Pakistani law and according to the Bible.”

One sister shared this request: “Pray [that] the church in Pakistan becomes a safe place for vulnerable girls and advocates for their well-being.”

 

*Pseudonym

Header photo of Christian children in Pakistan. (Photo courtesy FMI for MNN use.)