Friday, April 15, 2011

Pakistan: Christians seek justice for women raped and forced into Islam

In Pakistan, forced conversions to Islam, rape and forced marriages are on the rise. The victims are mostly Hindu and Christian girls and women.

Christians in Pakistan have been struggling to address the problem for some time, seeking cooperation with the Muslim majority and the government with poor results.

A nun is reported to have told the FIDES news service, “The Christian girls are the weakest and most vulnerable, because their communities are poor, defenseless and marginalized, therefore easily exposed to harassment and threats. Often they do not even have the courage to denounce the violence.” The nun hides and assists girls who have managed to escape. She said: “The trend is worrying: There are hundreds of cases a year registered and those that come to light are only a fraction."

In a society that tolerates discrimination of religious minorities, especially of women, Islam is used to impose tyranny.

A report by the Centre for Legal Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS), which provides legal assistance to Christians who are discriminated against and persecuted in Pakistan, confirms this issue, while reporting some terrible cases that occur mainly in province of Punjab.

Sidra Bibi, 14 year old Christian girl in the district of Sheikhupura in Punjab, is the daughter of a worker in the cotton industry. A Muslim man sought her out and eventually abducted and raped her before threatening her with death. Physically and psychologically abused, the girl became pregnant. She managed to escape from her tormentor and is now back, in a state of exhaustion, with her family. Police have refused to accept her complaint and now the CLAAS lawyers are handling the case.

Tina Barkat, 28 year old Christian, was approached by a Muslim friend who asked her to convert to Islam. Her family began to read her verses of the Koran, kidnapped and threatened her, and then gave her in marriage to a Muslim family member. The lawyers have a current action to dissolve the marriage.

The same fate has befallen Samina Ayub, a 17 year-old Christian girl, who lives with her family near Lahore. Kidnapped by a Muslim, she was forcibly converted to Islam, and renamed Fatima Bibi and was forced to marry in the Muslim rite. Her family reported the abduction, but police have not prosecuted those responsible. The case remains unsolved and the family calls for the mobilization of civil society to save Samina.

Shazia Bibi, a 19 year-old Christian from Gujranwala, in Punjab, was a domestic worker in the home of a Muslim woman, the owner of a grocery store. A Muslim boy from the shop fell in love with Shazia. Conspiring with the owner of the shop, they forced Shazia into marriage. Shazia's family has taken the case to court.

Also, two other Christian girls, Uzma Bibi, 15 years old, from Gulberg, and Saira Bibi, 20, a nurse from Lahore, were abducted by Muslim neighbours, and forced to convert to Islam and then forced to marry in the Islamic rite. The terrified families of the girls managed to reclaim their daughters and the cases are currently before the High Court of Lahore, represented by lawyers provided by CLAAS.

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