ACN has been actively working to give a much-needed voice to hundreds of Christian women and girls in Pakistan being forced into marriage and convert to Islam and has been forced into hiding after being accused of apostasy. Girls like Maira Shabaz, 14, who was abducted and forced to marry her kidnapper and give up her faith. Maira is just one of over 1,000 girls each year that are forced to go through the same ordeal every year, vulnerable to violence, including sexual assault.

ACN has been working with Pakistan’s National (Catholic) Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP), supporting advocacy, media engagement and public awareness campaign – including conferences and consultations with lawmakers and community leaders.

Child labour is something that is commonplace in Pakistan, twelve-hour working day, no footwear, a lack of safety equipment, poor pay and sexual violence are not suitable for any child.

A new town, Mariam Town is being built by the Church for Christians desperate to get away from a life of bonded labour. When completed the town sill have up to 250 houses and with the commitment from ACN to build a church in the town.

Christians like Saima and her husband Asaf, who previously lived in a tent with their toddlers Joyce and Musa, have moved into their new home in Mariam Town.

“We are so happy to be here, and it will be even better when we have our own church to worship in.”

Iqbal Masih was just four years old when he was put in chains and forced to work for up to 14 hours a day in a Pakistan carpet factory.

Working in truly awful conditions and being fed very little at aged 12 he was the height and weight of a six-year-old. Iqbal managed to escape but heartbreakingly was soon killed after deciding to stand up and raise his voice against modern slavery in Pakistan.

Since Iqbal’s death the problem has worsened: today more than 1 million people in Pakistan work in bonded labour in 20,000 brick kilns. Although Christians are barely 2 percent of the population in some areas, they make up 80 percent of brick kiln workers. Christians are disproportionality forced into these roles with little to no prospects for a better life for themselves or their families.