Forced Marriage in Pakistan
In the nation of Pakistan, it is not unusual for women, especially those of a minority faith, to be forcibly married against their will. No woman in Pakistan is safe from this, not even underage children. Although the nation passed the Sindh Child Marriage Restraint Act in 2014 to try and stop child marriage, Sharia Law, it is decreed that a woman can be legally married after their first menstrual cycle, which on averaged happens at the age of 12. On Feb. 3rd, 2020, a High Court in Pakistan ruled in favor of Sharia Law and not the Child Marriage Restraint Act. The ruling was made during the case of Huma Younus, a 14-year-old Catholic girl who was abducted by a Muslim man, forcibly converted, and pressured to marry him against her will. In the court, Huma's parents produced her birth records and baptism certificate to prove that she was underage, but the court ruled in accordance to Sharia. Huma's parents condemned this ungodly ruling, statin...