Judge refuses to return Christian teen to family after abduction, forced conversion to Islam

Christian Solidarity International says Neha Faqir's case highlights the routine abduction, forced marriage, and conversion of women ‘from religious minority communities’ in Pakistan.

(LifeSiteNews) — An 18-year-old Pakistani Christian woman forcibly abducted and converted to Islam was denied the right to return home to her family by a court. On March 24, Neha Faqir was abducted from a sewing center she worked in.

Her parents filed a report that she was missing. When the parents found out that their daughter had been kidnapped, they requested a hearing at the Lahore High Court to appeal to the judge to allow Neha to return home. Christian Solidarity International (CSI), which supports the family in her legal battle, reports that on the day of the hearing, “Neha’s family caught their first glimpse of her in over two months.

But the girl they glimpsed was not the Neha they knew. Dressed head to foot in black robes, the 18-year-old was accompanied by a similarly dressed Muslim woman and several religious representatives.” Neha’s mother and sister repeatedly tried to speak to her, but were not allowed.

The judge did not permit any of Neha’s relatives to have a conversation with her inside the courthouse. The family’s petition for Neha to be returned home was dismissed, leaving them distraught. CSI reports that the family could appeal the ruling, but the outcome is uncertain.

As the injustice in this case was particularly egregious, CSI used its influence to shine an international spotlight on the case. CSI’s director for public advocacy, Joel Veldkamp, shared Neha’s story during a hearing at the British Parliament, held on June 16. “In this case,” Veldkamp said, “the miscarriage of justice is so brazen that our partners in Pakistan have asked us to bring Neha’s case to the attention of the international community.”

The event in Parliament was called “Grooming, coerced marriage and conversion of minority women: Global incidence and evidence,” and was sponsored by Lord David Alton. CSI reports that Neha’s case “fits a systematic pattern of abduction targeting women and girls from religious minority communities in Muslim-majority Pakistan.” Hindu and Christian girls have been abducted and forcibly married to Muslim men and converted to Islam for decades.

These kidnappings are almost never punished. A 2021 BBC report noted that nearly 1,000 girls from religious minorities are abducted each year in Pakistan.