At the centre of the international backlash is the case of Maria Shahbaz. She was just 13 when she was taken from her home in July 2025, forced to convert to Islam, and married off to a 30-year-old man. Her family fought the marriage in court, but Pakistan’s Federal Constitutional Court officially upheld the union this past March, despite school and birth records proving she was a minor. Right now, Maria remains in her abductor’s custody while her parents try to pull together a final legal appeal.

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