Christian girl abducted, converted and forced to marry a Muslim in Lahore
Lahore, Feb 7, 2014: After a Pakistani Christian girl from Lahore (Punjab) was abducted
by a Muslim landowner, she was forced to marry him after conversion to Islam. Her
family reacted in a public protest, demanding justice from civil authorities.
Police
and the courts have failed so far to act and return the girl to her parents. The local
Catholic Church has instead backed the family, condemning the "widespread practice"
of kidnapping young Christian and Hindu women to marry them forcibly to Muslims and
reduce them to a "state of slavery".
The latest episode involves a 16-year-old
girl, Samariya Nadeem (Masih), who was abducted and forcibly married to a rich landowner.
The abduction took place 22 days ago in Lahore's 270-TDA Layyah District when the
young woman was on her way to school. The family filed a complaint (First Information
Report 14/14, under Section 365 B of the Penal Code) with the police for the abduction
reporting that Samariya was taken against her will and forced to marry the man.
So
far, police have failed to pursue any legal action against the local wealthy Muslim
landowner who abducted the girl because of the influence he wields. Police investigators
were also unable to talk to the bruised and terrified victim. Anonymous police sources
confirmed that the girl was "abducted" and forced to marry. However, an Islamic cleric
involved in the affair said that it was "not illegal to abduct and convert non-Muslims".
Thursday
morning, the family organised a protest rally in front of the Lahore Press Club. Under
Pakistani law, no one underage can be married without parental consent. Civil society
groups and human rights activists have appealed to Punjab's chief minister to take
action and return Samariya to her parents and bring her abductor to justice.
Kidnapping
and forced marriage have become a major issue in Pakistan, especially in southern
Punjab and in the interior of Sindh province. This is "very common in the region,"
said Fr Haroon James, a priest and activist in Lahore. Young women and girls "are
forcefully converted and married to influential landlords who keep them as slaves."
Unfortunately,
people seem to be increasingly "hopeless". For this reason, the Church has spoken
out in the case, "demanding justice for her and the family." Yet, "Despite the fact
that a FIR has been registered, the authorities have failed to act and protect the
vulnerable," the priest added. With a population of more than 180 million people (97
per cent Muslim), Pakistan is the sixth most populous country in the world, the second
largest Muslim nation after Indonesia.
About 80 per cent of Muslims are Sunni,
whilst Shias are 20 per cent. Hindus are 1.85 per cent, followed by Christians (1.6
per cent) and Sikhs (0.04 per cent). Violence against ethnic and religious minorities
is commonplace across the country, with Shia Muslims and Christians as the main target,
with things getting worse.
Dozens incidents of violence have occurred in recent
years, against individuals or entire communities, like in Gojra in 2009 or Joseph
Colony in Lahore in March 2013, often perpetrated under the pretext of the country's
blasphemy laws. (Source: AsiaNews)