[Welcome] Forced conversions and minority women in Pakistan: a human rights emergency

The Geneva press club is pleased to host a side event organised on the sidelines of the 62nd session of the Human Rights Council (HRC) by the CAP Freedom of Conscience and Global Human Rights Defence (GHRD).

Speakers

• Bert-Jan Ruissen, Member of the European Parliament.
• Dr Naseem Baloch, Chairman, Baloch National Movement
• Mr. Iván Arjona-Pelado, Foundation for the Improvement of Life, Culture and Society.
• MEP Tomislav Sokol, Member of the European Parliament
• Moderator: Thierry Valle, CAP Freedom of Conscience

Programme

• Opening remarks  – Moderator
• Keynote address – Bert-Jan Ruissen
• Panel discussion  – Expert insights
• Q&A Session – Interactive engagement with participants
• Closing remarks and call to action

To participate, please register using the following links:

Background 

UN Special Procedures and treaty bodies have repeatedly expressed serious concern about widespread and systematic patterns of abduction and forced religious conversion through marriage affecting women and girls from religious minority communities in Pakistan. These violations remain largely unaddressed by domestic authorities, perpetuating a cycle of impunity that places thousands of women and girls at acute risk.

Recent data indicate that approximately 75% of recorded victims belong to the Hindu community, with 25% from Christian backgrounds, and that nearly 80% of documented incidents occur in Sindh province. The victims are overwhelmingly adolescent girls between the ages of 14 and 18, though cases involving even younger children have been documented. Women and girls living in conditions of poverty and social marginalization face heightened exposure to abduction, forced marriage, physical and sexual abuse, social stigma, and severe and lasting psychological trauma.

This side event will examine the intersection of forced religious conversion, minority rights, and gender-based violence in Pakistan, with particular attention to the situation of Baloch women and girls, who face compounded and acute vulnerabilities arising from ethnic marginalization, enforced disappearances, displacement, and religious persecution simultaneously.

©By Assad Tanoli, via Unsplash, October 3, 2023.