What happened to Elizabeth's daughter?

Elizabeth and her daughter were threatened to convert to Islam or face death. She hasn't seen her daughter in 2 years.

Sehrish Kanwal March 11, 2011
I know a 40-year-old woman named Elizabeth who has experienced first hand the reality of life as a minority in Pakistan.

Every morning , Elizabeth and her 14-year-old daughter used to walk through the narrow streets of their colony to reach their workplace, a double storey kothi located in a posh area of the city.

This was the routine of many women from the little Christian colony located near the ganda nala (dirty stream) in Islamabad.

During these morning walks, two 40 years old men started following them in a car. They threatened to kill Elizabeth and her daughter if they didn’t convert to Islam.

Scared, the women changed their routes many times and even changed the time they left home from 9:00 to 8:30 am or 8:15 am but somehow, the men always found them. They were not alone - the men also threatened other women who were walking out of the colony.

The women in the colony tried to get help from the police but their efforts were futile.

Finally, Elizabeth’s nephew started escorting the ladies to their work place and for two months, the men stopped chasing them. Life went back to normal and the women started to go out without their escort - but this was only temporary.

They had no idea that their hunters were keeping a watchful eye on them.

One cold, rainy morning when Elizabeth and her daughter turned into the street where their workplace is located, the same men suddenly appeared in a car. They kidnapped her daughter and took her away.

Elizabeth screamed for help but there was no one in the street. Because of the rain, even the security guards who normally stand outside the house were inside their cabins.

It has been two years since this incident – two years since Elizabeth has seen the face of her only child. There will be no more chats on the way to work, and no one to spend the day with. She does not know what those men did with her daughter. She does not even know if her daughter is alive. She says she feels like her life is over; she lies on her charpai all day, silently awaiting death.

This is just one of the many untold stories of Pakistan.

The truth is that many homes are being burnt and many people are being oppressed in the name of religion. The minorities from Pakistan deserve answers.
WRITTEN BY:
Sehrish Kanwal A Quaid-e-Azam University graduate currently working in Islamabad.
The views expressed by the writer and the reader comments do not necassarily reflect the views and policies of the Express Tribune.

COMMENTS (71)

Nobody | 12 years ago | Reply @Ajay: Are you kidding? It only happens in Pakistan?? How very typical of you Mr.Ajay to try and sweep all the ugliness in India and elsewhere under the rug and put on a show for the world: "India is what you see in Bollywood everyone. Rights and respect for ALL, and free time to dance and prance around, my, how modern we are.".... You seem to have a lot to say about the condition of Pakistan, how about reading a bit about the atrocities plaguing India even today? Moving on, I don't deny (nor will most Pakistanis) that Pakistan has A LOT of problems and will need a generation to sacrifice alot in order to bring this country back from where it's heading. But I find it laughable when Indians jump up and start acting as if these ugly problems only exist for Pakistan, and minorities are given the highest respect and face no problems whatsoever across the fence. Having many Indian muslim friends here, I beg to differ as they will tell you differently. I normally hate comparing the two countries as I find it pointless, and don't like encouraging animosity of any kind between the two, but you my friend started this up and began pointing fingers. Why don't Indians worry about India, and let Pakistani's worry about Pakistan? Neither one has any room to talk about much of the topics discussed. Do me a favor, drop the holier than thou attitude, it's making me laugh. ;) Cheers!
Nobody | 12 years ago | Reply @Minoroties: It's so regrettable and I'm truly sorry, as a Pakistani-American, that Pakistan hasn't done anything to protect your rights and the rights of other minorities, as well as majorities. It's a sad and disgusting situation that's going to need a lot of work to rectify. I wish you the best!
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