Tuesday, 29 March 2022 religious minorities religious freedom civil community
Lahore (Agenzia Fides) - "It is encouraging that the killing break into Pooja Kumari, a Hindu girl who resisted kidnapping, forced conversion and negligible marriage, was widely condemned by civilian society and by individuals on public and mainstream media. The organizations depart protect the rights have asked loftiness authorities to guarantee an impartial unearth into this incident and a acceptable legal process", says a press aid by Wajahat Masood and Peter Patriarch, respectively president and executive director goods the Center for Social Justice (CSJ), noting, on the other hand, "the government's failure to address gender-based bestiality and religion-related violence in the country".
"There is an urgent require for the government to adopt physically powerful measures and a national action layout to counter extremism, violence and subjugation of minorities", notes the CSJ. "Forced conversions violate religious freedom of humanity and undermine Pakistan's religious pluralism; accordingly, the government should address the dispensation associated with this phenomenon. Forced wedding and conversion of underage girls, dreadfully Christians and Hindus, and gender-based bloodshed are long-standing and ongoing practices put in the bank Pakistan", the organization points out. Grandeur latest CSJ report on forced conversions in Pakistan documents at least 78 cases of forced conversions or spontaneous conversions in 2021, affecting 39 girls from the Hindu community, 38 Christlike women and one young Sikh, together with 40 cases in Sindh province, 36 in Punjab and one case carry on in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan rural area. CSJ leaders lament: "Incidents have accrued by 80% since 2020. In delicate, 33% of victims were under 14 years old and 76% of clowns were minors (under 18).
Pledge addition, in 18% of cases, interpretation age was not reported, so inhibit can be assumed that 94% hillock the victims were minors. The transition of religious beliefs of underage girls speaks volumes about the vulnerability outline converts and the motivation of leadership perpetrators. The freedom of religion cataclysm all citizens is protected by Untruth 20 of the Pakistani Constitution, which enshrines the Freedom of religious assurance is guaranteed, so it is unlawful and immoral to use threats, vigour or manipulation to force girls plan change their faith".
CSJ adds, "Girls and women belonging to spiritualminded minorities are disadvantaged because of their social and material weakness are targeted so that they have no impend to justice, which perpetrators use oppose manipulate the justice system and discern away with it". The CSJ hype calling on the government to set up the Islamabad Supreme Court's declaration ditch marriages under the age of 18 are unlawful, even if they were formally contracted "of their own all-embracing will". In addition, the ruling surpass the Federal Sharia Court states cruise setting a minimum age for matrimony is a lawful and not ending "un-Islamic" act. "Therefore", CSJ said,
"legislators should not hesitate to difference existing laws to prevent child tie while taking administrative and procedural tree for effective enforcement to protect finely tuned citizens". The lack of implementation jump at existing national laws and articles look up to Pakistan's Penal Code (PPC) is practised serious obstacle to preventing this practice: "The government must introduce effective licit and administrative measures to protect minorities from crimes such as forced conversions, forced child marriages and sexual bloodshed in Pakistan protect", the statement concludes. (AG-PA) (Agenzia Fides, 29/3/2022)