Minor Hindu girl abducted, forcibly converted, and married off in Pakistan; court legitimises crime despite proof of her age
Sanghar, Sindh, Pakistan 
16 April, 2025
Case Summary
In Khipro, Sanghar district in the Sindh province of Pakistan, a 14-year-old Hindu girl was abducted by a Muslim man. Following her abduction, she was converted to Islam and married off to her abductor. The matter was brought before the Khipro court, which gave a judgment in favour of the Muslim perpetrator. The media reports confirmed that the victim had been abducted from the Khipro area nearly three months earlier. After the abduction, she was forcibly converted to Islam. Subsequently, the victim was forced to marry the Muslim man who had abducted her. This matter reached the Khipro court, where the victim said that she had converted and married her abductor of her own free will. Following this, the court granted the custody of the girl to the Muslim perpetrator instead of her parents. Reports also confirmed that the lawyer representing the girl’s family submitted her birth documents to prove that she was a minor. Despite this, the court accepted the victim's statements. In his post on X, Shiva Kachhi also stated: "It is extremely disappointing that, despite the presence of the Sindh Child Marriage Restraint Act and a recent federal law which clearly states that marriage without a CNIC (National Identity Card) is a criminal offence, these laws are not being enforced in practice." This case highlights the persistent persecution faced by the Hindu minorities in Pakistan, marked by systemic discrimination, violence, and forced conversions. Hindu women, particularly young girls, are often abducted, forcibly converted to Islam, and married off to Muslim men with little to no legal recourse. Temples are frequently vandalised or destroyed, and Hindu communities are subjected to social and economic marginalisation. Blasphemy laws are disproportionately used against Hindus, leading to false accusations and severe punishments. Many Hindu families are forced to flee their homes due to religious intolerance, living in constant fear of attacks. This sustained persecution highlights the dire conditions for Hindus in Pakistan, where their religious identity makes them targets of oppression.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
The primary category under which this case has been placed is- Predatory proselytisation. Within this, the first sub-category selected is- Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination. The tertiary category selected is- Conversion of minor. Religious brainwashing essentially means the often subtle and forcible indoctrination to induce someone to give up their religious beliefs to accept contrasting regimented ideas. Religious grooming or brainwashing also involves propaganda and manipulation. It involves the systematic effort, driven by religious malice and indoctrination, to persuade “non-believers’ to accept allegiance, command, or doctrine to and of a contrasting faith. Cases of such grooming or brainwashing are far more nuanced than direct threats, coercion, inducement and violence. In such cases, it is often seen that there is repeated, subtle and continual manipulation of the victim to induce disaffection towards their own faith and acceptance of the contrasting faith of the perpetrator. While subtle indoctrination is widely acknowledged as predatory, an element which is often understated in such conversions or the attempts of such conversion is the role of loyalty and trust which might develop between the perpetrator and the victim. Fiduciary relationships are often abused to affect such religious conversion. For example, an educator transmitting religious doctrine of a competing faith to a Hindu student. The Hindu student is likely to accept what the teacher is transmitting owing to existence of the fiduciary relationship. The exploitation of the fiduciary relationship to religiously indoctrinate victims would also be included in this category. Since the underlying animosity towards the victim’s faith forms the basis of predatory proselytization, such cases are considered religiously motivated hate crimes. The second sub-category selected here is- Harassment, threats, coercion for conversion. Harassment covers a wide range of behaviours of an offensive nature. It is commonly understood as behaviour that demeans, humiliates, and intimidates a person, including threats and coercion. Harassment and threats, in this case, find their root on discriminatory grounds which has the effect of nullifying a person’s rights or infringing upon his freedom to exercise his right specifically owing to the victim’s religious identity. Verbal and physical threats and psychological or physical harassment are often used against Hindu victims because they choose to practice their professed religion. Religious harassment also includes forced and involuntary conversions by harassment, threats or coercion. Coercion includes intimidatory tactics like force-feeding a Hindu victim beef to convert to another religion, forceful circumcision etc. In several cases documented, non-Hindu perpetrators or those who harbour specific animosity towards Hinduism, harass victims simply based on their religious identity. Such cases often also include harassment to ensure the Hindu victim abandons his/her professed religion and adopts the religion of the perpetrator. Such cases where Hindu victims are harassed to convert to the perpetrator’s religion are rooted in animosity towards the victim’s religious identity and are therefore documented as religiously motivated hate crimes. This case has been added under the category of a hate crime since the abduction, forced conversion of a minor Hindu girl, followed by her marriage to her Muslim abductor in Pakistan, starkly illustrates the exploitation of vulnerable Hindu minorities through coercion and manipulation. Such incidents are not isolated cases; rather, they are part of a persistent and troubling pattern in Pakistan, where Hindu minorities, particularly young girls, are frequently targeted for kidnappings, forced religious conversions, and marriages to Muslim men. This ongoing trend showcases the persistent violence faced by the Hindu community in Pakistan. Hindus have been subjected to various forms of harassment, marginalisation, and abuse since the country’s inception. The minor victim stated that she had converted and married her abductor out of her own choice. However, the fact that the victim in this case is a minor is critical, as it negates any genuine element of consent or voluntary change of faith from the outset. Children, due to their ongoing emotional and cognitive development, are especially susceptible to manipulation and indoctrination, making them easy targets for those seeking to exploit religious or social vulnerabilities. When such targeted attacks are perpetrated against minors of a specific faith, using abduction and coercion tactics, then they are clear instances of hate crimes and clear violations of both human rights and child protection norms. It is also important to note that in Pakistan, Hindu girls who are targeted for conversion are often coerced into giving statements that they converted and married their abductors out of their own choice. This highlights how the Hindu minors are pressured by the Muslim perpetrators to serve a broader agenda of religious conversions. Such acts are not only violations of personal freedom but are deliberate efforts to strip Hindu victims of their faith and identity and later legitimise it through legal means. These incidents represent the coercion of Hindus in Pakistan, rooted in deep-seated religious intolerance towards the Hindu community and their beliefs. This case is a clear example of a religiously motivated crime. Furthermore, the Pakistani court’s failure to deliver justice by legitimising the girl’s abduction, forced conversion, and underage marriage exemplifies the deep institutional bias against Hindu victims. Despite clear evidence of her being a minor and the coercive nature of her circumstances, the court accepted her statement and granted custody to the perpetrator. Such judicial decisions embolden perpetrators and reinforce a system in which Hindu minorities are denied justice, subjected to targeted hate crimes, and stripped of their fundamental rights under the veneer of legal procedure. This case serves as yet another example of the ongoing crisis of forced conversions and the systematic persecution faced by Hindus in Pakistan. Given that the motive behind this crime was rooted in religious hostility and hatred, it has been recognised as a hate crime and accordingly documented in the Hinduphobia Tracker. Disclaimer: The exact date of the victim's ordeal has not been mentioned in the available media reports. However, it is stated that she was abducted approximately three months ago. For the purpose of documentation, we are using an indicative date of 17th April 2025, although the media reported the case on 17th July 2025. The Hinduphobia Tracker records the date when the victim’s ordeal begins rather than when it is reported by the media.
Victim Details
Total Victim
1
Deceased
0
Gender
- Male 0
- Female 1
- Third Gender 0
- Unknown 0
Caste
- SC/ST 0
- OBC 0
- General 0
- Unknown 1
Age Group
- Minor 1
- Adult 0
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 0
Case Status
Perpetrator acquitted
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
