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Hindu family alleges that their daughter is being kept away
They will file a case with the Sindh High Court against the conversion.
Sooda's 14-year-old daughter, Rekha, was allegedly abducted in December from her house in Gadap Town by Asghar, the supervisor of the glass factory she worked at. DESIGN: JAHANZAIB HAQUE
KARACHI: The forced conversion and marriages of Hindu girls has become a common occurrence in Sindh. But what is even more alarming is that these girls are not being allowed to meet their families after conversion.
“There is no justice here. I am not allowed to meet my daughter because she is a Muslim and I am a Hindu,” said Sooda, a factory worker. His 14-year-old daughter, Rekha, was allegedly abducted in December from her house in Gadap Town by Asghar, the supervisor of the glass factory she worked at. Following the incident, the family filed a case and the matter was taken to the Malir court. Ten days later, a hearing was held in which Rekha said that she had converted and married Asghar out of her own choice. The case was dismissed after she made this statement and this was the last time that the family saw the girl, who was covered in a black chaddar.
Outside of court, the elders of Asghar’s tribe promised that Rekha would be allowed to meet her family, but these were not fulfilled. “I don’t know where my daughter is and if she is even alive,” said Sooda, as he sat in the office of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP). “Asghar and his accomplices have switched off their cell phones and are nowhere to be found.” Rekha’s family, along with HRCP, will file a petition against her conversion and marriage in the Sindh High Court.
“If these girls do indeed convert under their own free will, then why are they not allowed to meet their families?” asked Abdul Hai, a representative of the HRCP. Religious scholar Mufti Muneebur Rehman said that a girl is allowed to meet her parents after conversion. “Islam permits the girl to stay in touch with her family. She can meet them whenever she wants, but it would not be appropriate for her to participate in religious festivities of her previous faith.”
Published in The Express Tribune, July 3rd, 2012.
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Reader Comments (23)
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“Islam permits the girl to stay in touch with her family. She can meet them whenever she wants, but it would not be appropriate for her to participate in religious festivities of her previous faith.” —Why do you apply this Islam on everything . You have a brain to analyse and apply logic to check which is right and which is wrong . Islam or quran was written many years ago and now time has changed a lot . Does quran permit to fly in plane and go to mecca ?Does quran permit to use a lift in a building or does quran permit to read it in a Ipad ? If these people continue to give us advice , then noone can save us …even the almighty….
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True colors come out when ‘THEY’ are in majority.
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india invites all hindus of pakistan to come to india. Indian muslims are causing a lot of problems.
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The wrath of Allah may not be visible but will definitely be felt by those indulging in atrocities and crimes in his name.
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What a shame and guys please i wanna make sure that islam doesnot allows these things.
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@shashi: India has enough problems already with population. And if you havent read the constitution please read it again, india is not a refugee camp for all the hindus of the planet, either they fight for their rights or perish.
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14 year old girl – this is plain and simple RAPE!
More worrying feature is systemic failure – almost Social acceptance just because victims are Hindu!
But then what can Hindus expect in “Land of Pure”?
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14 year old in marriage! What is the minimum age bar in Pakistan for a girl to be married?
In much of the civilised world it would be considered child marriage.
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@ Hindu Indian – What an arrogant approach to other Hindus just because you are safely ensconed in India!
Dharmo Rakshti Rakshtaha! Religion saves who save the religion! In essence – you need to help people of your religion IF you want your religion to be saved.
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This is the fate when you live in Muslim majority country.when the muslims go in other country they want equal rights …hypocrites…this country of converted people has become more Muslims and don’t know to respect other or their ancestral faiths…shame
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In 1947, 22% of popultation of W Pakistan was Hindu and Sikhs.
The districts that made up India, in 1947, had 12% Muslim poipulation.
Today, Hindu-Sikhs make 1-2% of W Pakistan population. From 22% to 2%.
In India, from 12% to 14% for Muslims.
The facts speak for themselves. Muslims have grown and prospered in India.
Numbers say, Hindus have been exterminated to 1-2% Recommend
People of other religion who lived in countries where Islam is the governing body, are not allowed to practice their faith other than Islam..
Other than these countries (Muslim countries) elsewhere everybody is allowed to practice their faith including Islam. There fore it is safer to live in these countries than in the Muslim countries.
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Dear Islamic recruiters
Next time,you convert a non-muslim girl to a muslim,please make sure that she is above 18 to avoid any media backlash,because its prepsterous when you claim that a 14 year old “child” decided to elope and marry a man twice as old as her and converts on her “free will”
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@Cautious:
Why did you precise “West” Pakistan ? It was in all Pakistan that Sikhs & Hindu made up 22% of the total population, and when in 1971 East Pakistan became Bangladesh that obviously went down big time as it had tons of Hindus too.
About the Sikhs, it was because of the Partition violence, like Muslims of Punjab had to go to today’s Pakistan : you can’t compare both situation, because Punjab (like Bengal) was concerned by Partition and its communal violence, whereas Indian Mulims from non-NW India were not, which means they were not targeted.
Just tell me how many Muslims there are in today’s Indian Punjab, and I’m sure that it would float around the same proportion.
The “middle class” Hindus of Sindh and Punjab too went to India, and to connect it with the article, that’s the problem : not only in Sindh Hindus are Hindus, but they’re poor Hindus, and in today’s Pakistan that’s literally a double-alienation, and it looks like there’s a social consensus on targeting young Hindu girls sadly, and as in every sphere of the government, the State is sleeping.
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Pakistan must be blessed with handsome and debonaire middle-aged gentlemen who all these Hindu teenagers are suddenly “falling in love and eloping with” – they must be real lookers! And my, my, the judge must be a true romantic at heart – to believe a child (that’s what a 14 yr old is anywhere else in the world!) who claims to have married & converted of her own free will, notwithstanding the fact that she is alone among a horde of gun-toting “baraatis” of the groom, after all what does age matter when the hearts are brimming with love. And bless the considerate Pakistani populace who wholeheartedly support the romantic couple, although a Muslim teenage girl eloping is strictly no-no (she must be hunted down for besmirching the family honour)!
Put yourselves in the shoes of this Hindu girl and you cannot even begin to imagine the horror she is going through! Compare the real, tangible damage done to the girl, her family and the minority community at large with the intangible damage
And not a peep from the authorities! This isn’t the first instance (Rinkle et al) and this by no means will be the last! Recommend
@Ali tanoli:
Dear brother, first time ever you have taken a humane stand. Thanks for that.
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@Ali Tanoli
Tanoli bhai, thanks from the bottom of my heart.God bless you.
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pakistan is already paying for its religious intolerance and it will now pay for forcible conversion if some fanatic hindu group from pakistan or india decides to strike back badly .. sad ending for a nation born out of religious crap
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@Geeko,
Get your numbers right. In 1947, in the districts that make W Pakistan, from Baluchistan to PoK, Hindus and Sikhs made 22% of the population or were 13-14 million out of a W Pakistan population of 55-60 million. That excludes Bangladesh. From 22% to 2% is a story of state sponsored genocide and state sponsiord discrimination. Very few parallels in history.
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@Hindu Indian:
“@shashi: India has enough problems already with population. And if you havent read the constitution please read it again, india is not a refugee camp for all the hindus of the planet, either they fight for their rights or perish.”
I am afraid you don’t know anything about history of Partition. These Hindus were part of India before partition. They did not want the partition. They just got stuck in an Islamic state that would render them third class and unwanted citizen in the land they have lived for thoustands of years. India owes these Hindus and Sikhs to offer them asylum to escape this cruelty.
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@1984:
“Dear Islamic recruiters
Next time,you convert a non-muslim girl to a muslim,please make sure that she is above 18 to avoid any media backlash,because its prepsterous when you claim that a 14 year old “child” decided to elope and marry a man twice as old as her and converts on her “free will”
I know you mean well, but is is ok for these religious fanatics to convert if the girl is over 18? Shouldn’t this be a free and lone choice of the girl of her own free-will? Why is it their business to convert anyone? Yes, I know, the Quran tells them to turn the whole world into an Islamic one, but we are living in an age of scientific enlightment, logic, humanism and reason. Why apply any medieval edicts practiced by a primitive society 1000+ years ago?
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Islam is religion of peace and there is no compulsion in religion. Recommend
@Truthbetold:
You didnt understand my sarcasm….Last time when Rinkle Kumari converted,there was a huge uproar by the Islamic fanatics that she was in love and had converted on her “free will”…
To an outsider,a 17 yr old girl marrying a man closer to his age and converting doesnt sound that peculiar as it happens worldwide….
But a 14 yr old girl marrying a married man twice her age doesnt sound nice….
I just warned the fanatics to stop coming with the same crap once again about love and free will this time too
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