The Kidnapping of Falak Noor


At the 55th annual Human Rights Council Professor Sajjad Raja, the chairman of the National Equality Party for Jammu and Kashmir Gilgit Balistan & Ladakh (NEP-JKGBL) raised up the case of Falak Noor, a 13-year-old girl who was kidnapped from her home in Gilgit, located in the disputed region of Kashmir on Jan. 20th, 2024 and subjected to forced marriage.  Two months after her kidnapping, a video was released of Falak Noor testifying that she willingly married to a man named Fareed Alam and was the age of 16.  However, her father released medical records clearly that showed that Falak was born on Jan. 16, 2012, well below the legal age for girls in Pakistan to marry.  At the Human Rights Council Professor Sajjad declared that the authorities have not only failed to act on this case, they have failed to even register an official report of her kidnapping.  Professor Sajjad further stated that the kidnapping of young girls of a minority faith which often leads to forced conversion to Islam & marriage against their will is increasing at an alarming rate.  


Pakistani Law decrees that a girl must be 16 to legally marry and a boy must be 18.  In addition, Section 498-B of the Pakistani Penal Code decrees a prison sentence of 3-10 years as well as a fine of 500,000 PKR for cases of forced marriage and Section further decrees a prison sentence of 7 years for falsifying documents.  However, in the cases of girls of a minority faith, name Hinduism & Christianity, these laws are seldom enforced.  

Protestors in Islamabad Demand the Return of Falak Noor to Her Family

In the nation of Pakistan there are dozens of registered cases each year of minority girls being kidnapped & subjected to forced marriage, and many more unregistered cases.  All the while Pakistani courts continually give the "green light" for fraudulent evidence be presented that issue falsified evidence of the kidnapped girls age as well as her "willful conversion" & "acceptance of marriage."  Falak Noor's cases is not an isolated one, only a more recent one.   all too often police forces are often bribed to look the other way by the kidnappers, which is also coupled with the fact that religious minorities within Pakistan face severe discrimination, which leads to the authorities to react with a blend of indifference and outright prejudice in cases involving the abduction of girls of a minority faith, and this trend shows no signs of changing despite ongoing international pressure.  

Sources:

Abbas Waseem.  "Falak Noor Abduction Case: A Continuation of Forced Child Marriages in Pakistan."  Youlin Magazine.  March 26, 2024.  Accessed from https://www.youlinmagazine.com/article/falak-noor-abduction-case-a-continuation-of-forced-child-marriages-in-pakistan/Mjc1NA==.

"Actives Sajjad Raja Raises Abduction Case of Minor Gilgit Girl in UNHRC."  India.com.  March 30, 2024.  Accessed from https://www.india.com/news/world/activist-sajjad-raja-raises-abduction-case-of-minor-gilgit-girl-in-unhrc-6823927/.  




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