WUNRN
Pakistan - Forced Marriages & Forced
Conversions in the Christian Community - Report
Direct Link to Full 36-Page 2014
Report:
June
9, 2014 - A Pakistani Muslim NGO says that every year between 100 to 700
Christian women, "usually between the ages of 12 and 25 are abducted,
converted to Islam, and married to the abductor or third party".
In its investigative report "Forced Marriages &
Forced Conversions in the Christian Community of Pakistan" the Movement
for Solidarity and Peace (MSP), identifies a pattern. It says that in most of
these abduction cases the parents of Christian victims file a police report,
but in response the abductor's relatives or friends file another police
complaint on behalf of the abducted Christian woman, claiming that she wilfully
married and converted to Islam, and that her parents are now
"harassing" her unlawfully.
Of Pakistan's approximate 185 million population, about 95%
are Muslims - 20-30% Shia, the majority Sunni. Christians account for about 2
per cent of the total population and about the same number are Hindus. The last
1% are of other religious minorities. The MSP represents the
Hazara community (http://www.msp-pk.org), a
distinct Turkic ethnic group from the areas bordering Afghanistan (in which country
they make up 13% of the population). They belong to the Shiite branch of Islam
and are treated with suspicion. In Pakistan, Hazaras have lost thousands of
their people in the last two decades in sectarian killings. Being itself
subjected to violence and discrimination, the MSP confirms similar treatment
meted out to Christians.
The report notes that after abduction, these Christian
women are subjected to "sexual violence, rape, forced prostitution, human
trafficking and sale, or other domestic abuse" so when produced before the
court and asked to testify if they were abducted, these women (and sometimes
children) give a statement in favour of their captors for fear of threats to
their life, and those of their family.
MSP says the report is based on field
research compiled by legal expert Emad Ansari during the summer of 2012; it
includes numerous interviews with local CSOs, national policymakers and diverse
stakeholders from amongst the Pakistani judiciary.
Backing up MSP's research, the respected national Pakistani
daily paper 'Dawn' has also presented an investigation of such an
incident: a Hindu girl whose parents filed a police complaint about
her forced conversion. Hindus also suffer abduction of their women and forcible
conversion to Islam. The investigation shows that it is quite difficult to
actually say whether the marriage was contracted with complete wilful consent.
(See also World Watch Monitor's recent report from Turkey).
Similarly, the United States Commission on International
Religious Freedom (USCIRF) 2014 report also alludes to forced conversion
of Christian women in Pakistan and notes abduction of a 14-year-old
Christian who was forcibly converted to Islam and then given in marriage to her
captor.
This USCIRF report notes that Pakistani Christians are a
struggling and socio-economically marginalized group, of which about 80 per
cent lead life in abject poverty. Because of their small number and poor status
they "are subjected to human trafficking and sale through debt transfers,
physical abuse, and economic exploitation." In this situation, the
exploitation of Christian women is much easier and the crimes go unpunished
with impunity.
The report does not rule out wilful conversions due to socio-economic reasons. "Social and economic disparities and poverty remain a major reason for wilful conversions from Christianity to Islam" the report says. It notes the role of social pressure for upward mobility by ‘conversion’.
The National Commission for Justice and Peace, a Catholic organization working in Pakistan, recorded 624 media reports of Christians’ conversion to Islam between the years 2000 and 2012. The MSP comments that, from these media reports, it is difficult to find out how many conversions were of a coercive nature. However, it notes that "The line between wilful and coerced conversions becomes further blurred when the reasons for conversion include a need for security, escape from discrimination, or fear of future violence". (Life can clearly appear to be easier for women who marry ‘above their station’ through conversion). However, the MSP report stresses that "coercive evangelization and targeted conversions are taking place".
Talking to World Watch Monitor, Albert David, the chairman of the Pakistan United Christian Movement, stressed that the government should take measures to stop forced conversion. He also appealed to the chief justice of Pakistan to take action if the government fails to introduce special measures.
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 2
II. CONTEXT AND BACKGROUND 3
III. LEGAL AND POLITICAL FRAMEWORK 6
Political
Representation 6
Federal-
and Provincial-Level Institutional Arrangement 6
Personal
Law on Marriage 9
Applicable
Criminal Laws 11
IV.
OVERVIEW OF FORCED MARRIAGE & FORCED CONVERSION 12
Forced
Marriages: De!nition and Context 12
Forced
Conversions: De!nition and Context 13
V.
ILLUSTRATIVE CASES 15
VI.
ROLE OF KEY STAKEHOLDERS 23
The
Police: Political Allegiances and Constrained Action 23
The
Judiciary: Religious Sympathies and Selective Diligence 24
Clerics,
Madressahs, and Religious Institutions: Convenient Procedures 25
The
Media: Silence and Misrepresentation 26
Ministries,
Legislatures, and Political Parties: Failed Reforms and Indi"erence 26
VII.
RECOMMENDATIONS 29
To
the Government of Pakistan 29
To
the Government of Punjab 30
To
the Supreme Court and Law Ministry 32