Pakistan: Appeal to free Christian girl, kidnapped and forced to convert to Islam
May 21, 2012: The family of 14 year old Christian girl, kidnapped on May 4, 2012
in Ali (Faisalabad, Punjab) has been pleading for Justice. It is believed that she
is forced to convert to Islam. The author of the kidnapping is the uncle of the girl,
who embraced Islam about a year ago and since then ended all contact with the family
of origin. He kidnapped the young girl to marry her off with his son Kashif. The wedding
was celebrated on 7 May.
The girl's father, told AsiaNews: "my daughter is
only 14 years old and suffers from heart problems since her birth and cannot do heavy
work. After converting my brother is conspiring against our family and has kidnapped
her with deception ".
Immediately after the seizure, the father of the young
Christian girl turned to local police and demanded the immediate release of his daughter,
but the agents refused to return Mary to her family. According to police, the girl
converted of her own free will and submitted as evidence a written statement in which
the girl says to "be mature and have embraced Islam without coercion or threats."
Fr.
Bonnie Mendes, priest and activist, former secretary of the Pakistan National Commission
for Justice and Peace, speaks of the abuses suffered by the Christian community. "Although
we are free to pray - he says - and to practice our religion, we are threatened when
we try to defend our rights." The priest denounces the problem of cases of forced
conversions to Islam of young Christians, which together with the blasphemy law is
one of the most severe violations of religious freedom to the detriment of minorities.
For Fr. Mendes Mary's case is against the teachings of Islam. In fact, those who want
to convert require an iddat, a discernment period that must last at least three months.
However, due to ignorance, illiteracy and social injustice, most Muslims do not observe
this rule.
Each month between 25 and 30 young girls suffer similar abuses,
for a yearly total of about 300 conversions and forced marriages. Hindu girls - but
also Christian - who are torn from the family while very young and delivered into
the hands of their husbands / torturers. One case recently made headlines when the
Pakistani Supreme Court forced three young Hindu women to return to their Muslim husbands,
despite the desire of the young girls to return to their family. The young women were
kidnapped in February, forced to convert to Islam and marry Muslim men. On March 26
Rinkle Kumari, one of the girls, told the judges of the Court that there "is no justice
in this country. Justice is only for Muslims, it is denied to Hindus. Kill me here,
now, in court. But do not send me back to the Darul-Aman [Koranic school] ... they
will kill us. " The other two young girls, Lata and Asha, had expressed, in vain,
the desire to be reunited with their families.