A Father Fights for His Daughter

According to Morning Star News, 13-year-old Maria worked with her mother as a domestic helper to supplement the family income. “When Maria didn't come home, we started looking for her, but we couldn't find her,” reports her father Masih from Punjab province.

The Christian father filed a report with the police. But they want nothing to do with returning his daughter: Maria has made an official statement that she is 18 years old and married Ahmad of her own free will. Masih, a driver and father of five children, was shocked when he heard this: -- I am convinced that Maria made this statement under duress. You can see immediately that she is not 18 years old!“

But the father is not giving up: ”We will present documents proving that Maria is a minor and will report Ahmed for sexual exploitation of a minor under the guise of Islamic marriage. --

Tragically, Maria is not an isolated case. In Pakistan, girls, some as young as 10, are repeatedly abducted. They are forced to convert and marry, raped, and then pressured to make false statements in favor of their abductors. Christians are particularly affected by this.

Symbolic image, credit Sadia Sethi