On November 18, the United Nations’ designated World Day for the Prevention and Healing from Child Sexual Exploitation, Abuse, and Violence, HinduPACT’s CHINGARI initiative (Coalition for HINdu Girls Abducted and their RIghts) will hold a coordinated global vigil highlighting the ongoing crisis facing Hindu, Sikh, and Christian minor girls in Pakistan. Each year, approximately one thousand girls from these minority communities are kidnapped, sexually assaulted, forcibly converted, and married under coercive circumstances. These cases mainly occur in Sindh and other regions where minority families have little legal protection, limited recourse, and face structural barriers to
justice.
Deepti Mahajan, President of HinduPACT, noted that the international community must address this crisis with clarity and moral seriousness. She stated that the world cannot credibly claim to uphold the rights of children while ignoring the systematic abuse of young girls in Pakistan’s minority communities. She added that CHINGARI serves as a
reminder that these victims are not numbers but children whose rights and dignity require firm global advocacy.
CHINGARI is a human rights initiative of HinduPACT, an independent American Hindu policy and advocacy organization. CHINGARI documents cases of abduction and forced conversion, supports affected families through public advocacy, and engages with policymakers, human rights institutions, and media to ensure that these crimes receive the visibility and scrutiny required for meaningful change.
This year’s Global Vigil is being organized in partnership with Insight UK and Optics Australia. Insight UK is a national advocacy group representing Hindu and Indian communities in the United Kingdom with a focus on raising awareness of discrimination and targeted violence. Optics Australia, a social initiative, is dedicated to serving the Australian Hindu and Australian Indian (AHI) community. Optics Australia works to raise awareness, deliver information to, and educate the AHI community on political,
social, and cultural matters.
Their participation reflects a broader international concern regarding the escalating vulnerability of minority girls in Pakistan and the absence of adequate legal safeguards.
The Global Vigil will include online participation across the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and additional countries. Organizers will call on governments, human rights bodies, and international institutions to acknowledge the systemic nature of these abductions and to encourage Pakistan to establish effective mechanisms for
prevention, prosecution, and victim rehabilitation. The initiative also urges media and academic institutions to report on these abuses with accuracy and balance, rather than minimizing or overlooking the pattern of coercion documented over several decades.
Mahajan emphasized that the abduction and forced conversion of minors must be recognized as a grave violation of human rights that deserves sustained international engagement. She noted that silence has only enabled further exploitation and that 18 November provides an appropriate occasion for governments, civil society, and faith communities to reaffirm their commitment to protecting vulnerable children.