Pakistan: Catholic charity
decries forced conversions to Islam
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| Pakistani Christian women pray at Mass in Peshawar (ANSA) |
A Catholic aid agency is hosting a press conference on
Thursday to draw international attention to the plight of Christian and Hindu
women who are forced to convert to Islam.
By Devin Watkins
Aid to the Church in Need is sounding the alarm on the
plight of young Christian women, and even teenagers, in Pakistan.
“Every year at least a thousand girls are kidnapped, raped,
and forced to convert to Islam, even forced to marry their tormentors,”
according to Tabassum Yousaf, a Catholic lawyer linked to the St. Egidio
community.
To draw attention to the issue, the papal foundation ACN is
hosting a press conference in Karachi on Thursday, which will see the
attendance of Cardinal Joseph Coutts and several Muslim leaders.
The phenomenon of forced conversions hits Pakistan’s
religious minorities, especially Christians and Hindus.
Better legal protection
In just one case, in July, a 14-year-old Christian girl was
abducted in Lahore and forced to marry her kidnapper. Police later informed her
parents that a conversion certificate had been registered for her.
Though current Pakistani law sets the legal marriage age at
16 for girls, ACN is pushing for it to be changed to 18.
The Catholic charity is also advocating for better legal
protections against kidnappings and forced conversions for religious
minorities. Families of victims often face an uphill battle in court when
taking on perpetrators of forced conversions.
Media attention
The press conference on Thursday falls just before the
national Minorities Day, to be held on Saturday, 11 August.
Ms. Yousaf, the Catholic lawyer, says the West and the
international media “can do much to safeguard religious minorities in
Pakistan.”
In addition, she called for better education for young
women. “Our girls cannot access adequate education and so are penalized when
they look for a job,” said Ms. Yousaf.
Perils facing religious minorities
Separately, a prominent Christian lawyer and rights activist
in Pakistan, Sardar Mushtaq Gill, spoke to the Osservatore Romano about the
life of Christians in the country.
“The lives of religious minorities in Pakistan is marked by
violence, discrimination, and the abuse of fundamental human rights,” he told
the Vatican’s newspaper on Wednesday. “It is an old, systemic problem that has
its roots in history, worldview, and local culture. The government should be
made aware of this reality and act accordingly, to protect non-Muslim Pakistani
citizens and to promote the rights, justice, and freedom of all.”
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