No Respite For Hindu Minority: Girl Forcibly Converted And Married In Mirpurkhas
In yet another case of violation of minority rights, a Hindu girl was forcibly converted in Mirpurkhas, shedding light on the miserable state of minority affairs in the country.
According to details shared on social media by human rights activist Kapil Dev, a Hindu girl from Noukot, Mirpurkhas, was abducted. The girls was converted and married to a Muslim man, AllahDino.
In a tweet shared on social media, Dev asked why right-wing parties did not back a law to prevent the forcible abduction and conversion of Hindu girls.
Another day, another #Hindu girl forcibly converted
Chandri Kolhi from Noukot, Mirpurkhas, was abducted, converted & married to AllahDino.
Her innocent face can tell how old she could be!
I fail to understand why right-wing parties don't want to support a law to stop this? pic.twitter.com/gP3EJTbdlF
— Kapil Dev (@KDSindhi) October 18, 2019
The incident was received condemnation and criticism on social media. Users commenting on the post stated how the incident was condemnable and shameful.
Another user called for a legislation to be put in place in order to prevent such exploitation in the name of religion.
Government needs to bring some legislation to prevent such exploitation in the name of religion
This is unIslamic & this should be a crime
— ✳️ سرفراز | (@sarf7a9z) October 18, 2019
People also pointed out that the girl did not even seem of age.
She is not even 18 year old. Look at her innocent face. Law should be made to stop such conversions
— Jiya Noreen (@JiyaNoreen) October 18, 2019
A user also called on Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari to be more ‘vigilant’ in order to put a stop to such cases.
@ShireenMazari1 Ma'am why such cases keep on appearing? Its under your domain. Can't your people be more vigilant to stop such cases? These earn a really bad name for the country. Take solid steps to abolish forceful conversion. Its serious.
— Mudassir Iftikhar (@Mudassir_Maitla) October 18, 2019
Recently, Prime Minister Imran Khan had said that Pakistan, along with Turkey and Malaysia, would be launching a channel to counter Islamophobia and to shed light on issues plaguing Muslim countries. A Twitter used criticised how the prime minister was planning to launch a channel to counter Islamophobia when minor girls from the minorities were at the receiving end of forcible conversions.
اسلاموفوبیا کے خلاف چئنل چلائیں گے اور ا نے ملک میں نابالغ ہندو بچیوں کو زبردستی مذہب تبدیل کرکے انہیں جنسی حوس کا نشانہ بنائیں گے،اس ملک میں تمام اقلیتیں غیر محفوظ ہیں pic.twitter.com/OnhLZte0X1
— Asif Ali (@asifalimahar201) October 18, 2019
Child Marriage In Pakistan
According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Pakistan has the sixth highest number of child brides in the world. This is the case when the country has committed to eliminate child and forced marriage by 2030 in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
In 2014 and 2017, bills proposed by the National Assembly to criminalise child marriage failed to be passed. In the same year, the Sindh assembly adopted the Sindh Child Marriage Restraint, which raised the minimum legal age for marriage to 18 years.
In 2015, the provincial assembly of Punjab passed the Punjab Marriage Restraint Act 2015, which though increased the period of imprisonment and fines, kept the legal marriage age at 16.
The government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa failed to raise the minimum marriage age to 18 years in 2016. The province of Balochistan is still governed by the Child Marriage Restraint Act 1929, according to which the minimum age of marriage for girls is 14 years.
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