Author: Hasan Mansoor
Publication: Mid-Day
Date: November 13, 2005
URL: http://web.mid-day.com/news/world/2005/november/123248.htm
An alarming trend - that of Muslims kidnapping
Pakistani Hindu girls and forcing them to convert to Islam - in Pakistan's
Sindh province is forcing the worried resident Hindu community to marry off
their daughters as soon as they are of marriageable age or to migrate to India,
Canada or other nations.
Recently, at least 19 such abduction cases
have occurred in Karachi alone, while several others have been reported in
the media.
Sanao Menghwar, a Hindu resident of Karachi's
Punjab Colony, is a traumatised man; all three of his daughters -Aishwarya,
Reena and Reema - have been kidnapped and forced to convert to Islam.
In the police complaint that he filed at the
behest of the Panchayat after two days of futile searching for his daughters,
he stated that when he and his wife returned home from work, they discovered
their daughters had gone missing.
The police arrested three Muslim youths in
connection with the crime, who were later granted bail by a court because
they're minors. Menghwar's daughters continue to remain missing.
"Kidnapping Hindu girls like this has
become a normal practice. The girls are then forced to sign stamp papers stating
that they've become Muslims," says Laljee Menghwar, a member of the Hindu
Panchayat in Karachi.
According to him, the Pakistani government
needs to examine and put a stop to the social oppression of religious minorities
in the country. "Hindus here are too frightened to vent their anger -
they fear victimisation. But we have now decided to go public with these cases
and demand justice," Laljee says. Their cause has found support in the
Pakistani Christian community, who carried out a demonstration with them in
Karachi, protesting against this crime.
Similarly startling incidents have occurred
in several districts of Sindh and evoked identical responses. At least six
Hindu girls met this fate a few months ago in Jacobabad (a tribal area heavily
inhabited by Hindus) and Larkana districts.
Sapna, the daughter of one Seth Giyanchand,
was recently taken to a shrine (Amrote in Shikarpur district) by Shamsuddin
Dasti. Dasti, a Muslim friend of Sapna's brother, is a married man and father
of two.
Nevertheless, the custodian of the shrine,
Maulvi Abdul Aziz lost no time in converting Sapna to Islam (her names was
changed to 'Mehek') and marrying her to Dasti. The case came to light only
when Sapna's parents stated that their daughter hadn't eloped but been abducted.
Human rights activists, such as Nuzhat Shirin
who belongs to the Aurat Foundation, says that religious extremism is rapidly
increasing in Jacobabad and other Sindh districts.
Extremists in turn encourage shrines, which
are involved with forced conversions. When a Hindu girl is converted to Islam,
hundreds of extremists belonging to religious parties such as Maulana Fazlur
Rehman's Jamiat-e-Ulema Islam (JUI), take to the streets and chant religious
slogans.
In Sapna's case, when she was presented in
court with Dasti, extremists showered rose petals on them and loudly chanted
religious slogans. The fanaticism was so daunting that Sapna was too frightened
to even speak with her own parents who were also present in the courtroom.
At that, Maulvi Aziz, who was also standing in the courtroom, was said to
have remarked, "How can a Muslim girl live and maintain contact with
kafirs (infidels)?"
Sapna's story sparked widespread demonstrations
by the Hindu community. Presidents and mukhis of Panchayats from various towns
and districts met in Jacobabad to discuss this serious issue. Activists and
leaders from educated segments of society strongly criticised the role of
religious leaders, like Maulvi Aziz, in these forced conversion cases.
Still, the threat of victimisation by Muslims
is palpable; Shirin says when forced conversion cases make it to court, lawyers
themselves avoid taking them up, fearing a backlash from maulvis.
Giyanchand meanwhile has said that he has
no other option but to migrate to India - it will be difficult for him to
find grooms for his other daughters because of Sapna's controversial conversion.
And forced conversions are not the only problem
that the Hindu minority (there are 2.7 million Hindus in Pakistan; Pakistan's
total population is 140 million) is facing in the country.
A powerful syndicate of bandits and patrons
in the northern districts of Sindh regularly kidnap rich Hindus for ransom.
They not kill hostages if the ransom doesn't arrive on time, they even kill
some despite their ransom being paid.
Sadham Chand Chawla, the former president
of the Hindu Panchayat, Jacobabad, was abducted and murdered. His killers
remain at large despite enormous protests. Following his murder, his family
had received several threats until they secretly migrated to India.