"Convert or suffer": Pakistan's Christian and Hindu children trapped in forced conversions and child labour rings

Islamabad [Pakistan], August 10 (ANI): A new report by Pakistan's own National Commission on the Rights of the Child (NCRC) has brought to light the deep-rooted and widespread discrimination faced by minority children, especially Christians and Hindus, within the Islamic Republic. Titled "Situation Analysis of Children from Minority Religions in Pakistan," the report offers a grim picture of systemic bias, institutional neglect, and targeted abuse. It calls for urgent government intervention, though scepticism remains over whether that call will be met with anything beyond lip service.

According to Christian Daily International, the report points to "severe challenges" faced by religious minority children, which are not isolated incidents but part of a disturbing nationwide pattern of marginalisation and abuse. Forced conversions, child marriages, and child labour, particularly in bonded conditions, remain a daily reality for thousands of Christian and Hindu children.

Among the most horrifying revelations in the NCRC's findings, highlighted by Christian Daily International, is the continued practice of abducting underage girls from minority communities and forcibly converting and marrying them to older Muslim men. The report explicitly states that "few legal options" exist for victims due to institutional bias, lack of law enforcement, and overwhelming public pressure. This is not a legal gray area; it is a human rights catastrophe.

From April 2023 to December 2024, the NCRC received 27 official complaints involving cases of murder, abduction, forced religious conversion, and underage marriage, all targeting minority children. And these are merely the reported cases. Real numbers are feared to be significantly higher, as families often remain silent out of fear of retaliation or further victimisation by authorities.

Christian Daily International notes that the situation is most dire in Punjab, the country's most populous province, where 40% of the total reported violence against minority children occurred between January 2022 and September 2024. Police data cited by the report reveals that 547 Christians, 32 Hindus, two Ahmadis, and two Sikhs were among the victims, along with 99 others.

The educational system, rather than offering a path to escape, only reinforces the exclusion of religious minorities. The NCRC report slams the Single National Curriculum for its "absence of religious inclusion," forcing Christian and Hindu students to study Islamic content that contradicts their faith. Christian Daily International further highlights how this negatively affects their GPA and academic progress, creating a culture of failure and alienation.

Worse still, minority students face social discrimination within schools. According to the report, both teachers and classmates often ridicule or isolate children once their religious identity is known. As per testimonies collected in the report and shared by Christian Daily International, children from oppressed caste and minority backgrounds are hesitant to sit at the front of classrooms, ask questions, or even drink water from shared glasses. They are mocked for their beliefs and told to convert to Islam to receive "divine rewards."

The findings expose the brutal truth: Pakistan's minority children are not just being left behind; they are being deliberately sidelined and systemically abused.

The report also draws attention to bonded labour, with Christian and Hindu children often trapped in the vicious cycle of forced work at brick kilns or in agriculture. Their families, already burdened by intergenerational poverty and discrimination, are offered little to no protection by the state.

Christian Daily International underscores the NCRC's strong call for immediate reforms: legal protections against forced conversion and child marriage, inclusive education policies, and enforcement of child labour laws. However, as NCRC Chairperson Ayesha Raza Farooq acknowledged, progress has been dismal due to "fragmented efforts, lack of coordination, and limited political will."

Pirbhu Lal Satyani, the NCRC's representative for minority rights in Sindh, told Christian Daily International that the report was a comprehensive effort to map the many layers of vulnerability minority children face. He described these children as "the most marginalised," facing "stigma, stereotyping, and structural exclusion."

The NCRC's findings are a national shame, but the international community, including watchdogs and religious rights groups, should see them as a call to action. Pakistan has long presented itself as a nation of religious tolerance. But as this government-backed report now confirms, that narrative crumbles when confronted with the reality faced by Christian and Hindu children.

Pakistan can no longer claim ignorance or denial. Its institutions have documented the crisis. The question is: will it act, or continue to be complicit? (ANI)

(This content is sourced from a syndicated feed and is published as received. The Tribune assumes no responsibility or liability for its accuracy, completeness, or content.)