Areesha Iqbal

Forced Conversions of Minorities In Pakistan

We all talk about the injustice done to the Muslim minorities in India but the injustice done to the Muslim minorities in Pakistan should also be a matter of our concern. Every year around 5000 Hindus from Pakistan migrate to India. The reasons being, different incidents of religious desecration, lack of jobs and opportunities, criticism in educational institutes, racism and forced conversions of young girls.

Forced conversions of young Christian and Hindu girls especially in the interior Sindh and some areas of Punjab are increasing at an alarming rate. In areas like Tharparkur and Umerkot where large communities of Hindus preside the cases of forced conversions are a matter of routine. According to a report, an estimate of around 1000 Christian and Hindu girls are forced to convert and marry a Muslim man in Pakistan every year.

The cases of forced conversions in Pakistan follow a distinctive pattern where the Christian/Hindu girls usually between the ages of 12 to 25 are abducted, converted to Islam, and married to their abductor or a third party, men who are already married or aged. In reaction, the families of these girls file reports in police stations but a counter FIR is filed by the abductor as well on the behalf of the victim girls. The complaint by the victim is of no value when the girls themselves pronounce in the court that they are willfully converted and consented to the marriage. Whereas, in many cases, the police denies to lodge any FIRs at all. The people behind these forced conversions are feudal lords having the strong back of political and religious parties. The government also remains silent to these injustices for these feudal lords to help them in their vote banks. The police forces are also involved in these cases whereas the victims are young helpless girls from poor families.

Be it the 13-year-old Christian girl kidnapped on gunpoint to be forcefully converted to Islam and two members of her family shot while helping her or the story of the 14-year-old Mehak Kumari who stated twice in the court that she doesn’t want to stay with his abductor and wants to go back to her parents but was ignored and sent back with her abductor or the story of a Catholic girl Huma Masih, abducted on her way to home from school and converted, the 14-year-old Christian girl Sadaf whose mother attempted suicide, the stories of Raveeta , Varsha, Sheza Masih, Monika and all those young girls who are the victims of forced conversion, All of these minorities of Pakistan only desire for justice, equality and protection of their rights as minorities. As the father of one of the minorities said “Hum b Pakistani hain, hmary b hukook hain!”