KARACHI: Kidnapped and forced into sex work at the age of 12 years, N, a Hindu girl, thought it was a nightmare that would never end.
Duped by a man named Younus who was welcomed into the family home in Teen Hatti as an old friend, N and her family never suspected that a man who showered attention and presents on them would do such a thing. N claims that he would drop by their house quite often and one day when she was alone he showed up with his wife and lured her to their house in Korangi.
What followed remained a mystery for two years till August 23 - the day she escaped.
An unlatched door led N, now 14 years old, to freedom from the brothel in Nasir colony run by Younus, his wife and son Rehman. She was forced to work as a sex worker along with three young girls, including two other Hindu girls, who escaped with her.
N claimed that one of the girls had been abducted before her while the other two were brought in after her. She was taken to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for a medical examination where the medico-legal officer said that N’s results showed that she had routine sexual intercourse. The officer added that she had been given a contraceptive injection every two months to avoid a pregnancy.
N said that she was forced to do what her captors said, as they had drugged her. She told The Express Tribune that sometimes she had two to three visitors per night and the family charged them Rs1,500 to Rs2,000 per person.
Cursing her time at the brothel, N added that Younus and his son sexually abused her and the other girls as well.
Talking about the girls who had escaped with her, N explained that they hired a rickshaw and instructed the driver to head towards a main road. She added that when they recognised the area, she dropped off the girls and went to her parent’s house in Teen Hatti. “Her family immediately contacted Roshni Helpline, a child rights non-government organisation (NGO) that had been following the case for two years,” said the NGO’s Mohammad Ali.
Ali told The Express Tribune that a neighbour caught Rehman trying to stop one of the girls from escaping.
In his statement in front of the authorities, Rehman admitted that his family had been involved in the business and they targeted young girls from different minorities. “Their backgrounds were not influential so there was little that they could do once their daughter was abducted,” he said. “The brothel ran unnoticed in a small area usually inhabited by labourers.”
While Younus and his wife are still at large, the investigating officer ASI Rana Nisar from the Supermarket police station in Liaquatabad claimed that Rehman’s statement had provided leads to his parent’s whereabouts. He added that they would conduct another raid to find out more.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 25th, 2011.
COMMENTS (69)
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I think all the world read whatever bad happens in Pakistan. But no one read what is ratio of rape in USA and other countries. People should read serial killers rape even 10 years old girls in USA. But Pakistan is always on focus. Its racism only.
This is the fate of us hindus in pakistan, we have been always been second grade citizen when it come to patriotism or any way what so ever being related to pakistan......
they say not only hindus all religion girls share the same fate but what percent ? about 80-87 % of cases hindus girls are being targeted ,after being kidnapped they'll take the girl to some imaam and make her accept islam....and they'll be married to some useless persons around after having 3 -4 child they'll leave that girl ,,,,,,what shoud that girl do?with 3-4 child ....no one to take care of her ......even no house to leave............. and even in the court the case doesn't stand they'll sy she accepted islam by her choice which is far away from truth ......
we are suffering a lot , we have been never given any support from the police , even at the time of floods when our houses were wiped off along with muslim's, we were not being given any facilities .......many hindu families still lives in temporory shed
not only this there are many thing ,which will go on for ever
lastly when pakistan was made hindus constitued almost 1/3 of the total pakistan oputation now it has bee decreased to 1.6 %
yet no one cares of us........aren't we citizens of pakistan ?aren't we paying taxes ?why are we being treated like this? Question to all who says i am proud to be a pakistani.....
@M Abakhel @Anjum
I see your point. I think, I was a bit carried away because of the severity of the vile acts of the perpetrators. But that's my fault. I sincerely appologise for the less than approprite comment.
@ Dr Priyanka
Pakistan has much more religious freedom and inter-faith harmony than India. Please don't take this as a typical statement but its based on facts. Where you mentioned 3 guys who rose to glory in India, I know there are even more in Cricket, Film industry and else. We appreciate that. But do consider that India has more than 30% muslims but Pakistan has maybe 0.01% Hindus still Justice Bhagwandas was the 2nd senior-most judge of Pakistan. Please be rationale and not emotional in your critique.
@AOAO:
She is not an Indian and happens to be a Hindu in an Islamic state and got raped there. That is the reason why we are worried sweetie! I am a hindu and have lived in Saudi Arabia for 10 yrs and Bahrain for 3 yrs. I have yet to get this kind of news from there. So the anxiety! Got it now?
@ Anwar
That is your definition of terrorism and no matter how hard you try to spread that hopelessness, optimism stands the winner. Your definition counts a TWELVE year old brain-washed kid who carries out suicide bombing but does not count those who brain-washed the kid for bigger agenda. Its not about religion, no religion teaches such insanity. At least im sure of Islam, maybe you can share yours preaching on this.
Thank god you jahils do not know the crime stats on USA or Europe............... Ignorance indeed is a bliss. what is up with Indiains trolling? She is not an Indian.
Why have some people in our society have fallen so much that they can do anything for money or pleasure.
Just think about these girls, the things that have been done to them at age 14. They have their whole lives ahead, I cannot begin to imagine how anyone moves forward from this, how these girls will cope.
This is cruel, just plain wicked and inhuman which is done to these kids.
We need rule of law and increased awareness in our society to get rid of people like the ones who did this. And we need it badly. The moral values that some parts of our society are losing as years pass is most worrisome.
And for all those commenting on the religion thing, they were Hindu kids, which is the fact. And everyone sane already understands that the people who did this were cruel, and do exist in all societies, whatever the religion. What we should be worried about is whether their number is reducing or increasing. If its increasing, then we have to do something to stop that.
Delhi Belly and other who are trying to make it just another crime by passing the typical comment like 'dont make it a religious issue and all, we have muslims leaders in india too', this and that and trying to look good and secular in front of world are not aware of ground realities. come out of your bollywood and indian cocoon then you will know the real world.
@M Abakhel: Very good argument.
Thank you ET for making a story of exploitation of an innocent child into a minority issue. Not that we don't have minorities living below acceptable standards this news item however seem to be bent on exploiting that.
I am ashamed to be called as a Pakistani!
This is what we called the failed state. No rules, no leaders,nothing.... every worst crime in the world you will find it here in Pakistan. GOD help only those , who help them selves.
So , keep sleeping.. !!
@Ex Muslim:
No thanks im not okay with worshipping stones. having said that you have the right to change your religion.
Am I wrong in saying that had the girsl not been Hindu this article would not have been featured so prominently on the ET website? the abuse of minorities is a critical issue facing our nation, however im sure that there are many more girls muslim and non-muslim being treated in a similar manner.
In country like Pakistan police and other law enforcing agencies are the beneficiaries of such crimes. Why they arrest culprits?
For all those misunderstanding me on the religion of the girls issue i did not mention 'Hindu' because of any sort of agenda or biasness. The point is we have to state facts and information in a story. Most of them (three out of four girls) who were kidnapped and used were Hindus is a FACT and had to be mentioned for news standards..also at no point in my story I intended to imply that Hindus or minorities are the only ones to be targetted or in the sad-trade, it was just an important point that the culprit himself admitted in custody of police that they were intentionally picking up minority community girls as their families are relaitively less aware and powerless over here. I know that girls from all religions are targetted but that was just not the finding of this particular case and this being a news story i could not add my own views. I think by highlighting this I tried to help them by giving an example that the minorities are vulnerable - one purpose of journalism - what do you'll think?
Sad. Irrespective of religion, this is simply inhuman. I am surprised that the editorial has added a religious accent to this original gruesome act. Why add a religious twist here? Such people who force women into such an act do not belong to any religion irrespective of their social label in form of "name". Such people have already crossed the boundaries of religion and have already disowned it when they commit such a crime. I feel sorry for this females and others who are rescued and more sorry for those who are still not rescued and hopefully for them they get to get free from this slavery. I wish those who are rescued get respectful place and peace in society.
Why are you guys not accepting my comments? What discriminatory and childish behaviour.
They chose to abduct only girls from the minority community because, as Rehman said, they would not be able to do much about it. Because of the inferior status of minorities in Muslim Pakistan people like Younus get encouragement to target minorities. If all are equal under Allah, then why this lower status of minorities ?
@Fortune Cookies - The solution among other things is to walk the talk on minority rights. I think it is time to call a spade a spade and protest against the disproportionate amount of violence/ terrorism emanating from the Muslim world. Everyone has problems but no one claims the high pedestal that Islam claims. For a religion which claims to be the ultimate solution to the worlds problems it is time to face critique and be open to reformation. remember this is the only religion that needs 4 male witnesses to a rape charge to stand. This is primitive, tribal and what's worse says this is gods word and can't be challenged. sensible intelligent people either tow the line or are declared apostates and killed. "Wake up guys"
Unless of course, if the ASI himself is not one the beneficiaries.
Human trafficking and child abuse are rampant in sub-continent and we should not give the case of N a religious colour. In India, poor Nepali and Bangladeshi girls are the main targets. In Pakistan, the weakest societies may be Christians and Hindus, but it can happen to anyone and only non-Muslims are not the only victims . But the main fact for such heinous episodes can be attributed to corruption in civilian police, and further legal loopholes make such criminal acts impossible to get noticed by people. We all should look into our hearts and think where the morals of old fashioned societies have gone. After all, a child is a child and sexual abuse against her wishes is murder of her soul. Trauma in the minds of N will never end but we should try to remove such conditions from our society under which a victim is trapped and falls in nightmarish life.
Was it necessary to mention the religion of the girl??
Yes the perpetrators will likely face lesser level of wrath from our moral brigade because the victims are not 'daughters of Islam'! Yes I mean it. Religious minorities are dhimmis aren't they? The Pakistan mindset is just that. These guys are indoctrinated that violating a non-muslim woman is not that much of a crime.@Forbidden Fruit:
@saibal - This is not a minority issue. Its time to wake up!. In Mumbai, there are brothels that have lots of underage girls BOUGHT from Nepal against their will. Please note that it is a world wide problem. When commenting, please provide solutions for such SENSITIVE issues.
Why bring religion and race into this debate? Being 12 years old is sufficient evidence of total immorality of the offenders. For all i care, their are similar offenders all over the world. Let us debate here, as to how the laws can protect such people and if there are insufficient laws the what can we do to improve such a situation and bring the perpertrators to justice.
it is the dreadful act that one can done... there should be capital punishment only for these types of culprits.. then only these types of heinous act can be stop... god please do something...
@nikki: I am absolutely devastated. Sorry for the girls and grateful to ET for enlightening us. Hope Pakistan is doing something for it's Hindus. We have and have had great muslim leaders, scholars, chief of Indian air staff Air chief Marshall Latif, president Kalam, Zakir Hussain etc etc. Why don't we see Hindus in prominent positions in Pakistan? Are they a vulnerable lot? This has to be looked into seriously by Pakistan. And as for you Ms Nikki a piece of advice. Come up with something original. Indians have been taught to keep a low profile all their life. ET is kind enough to allow us to voice our opinion. The Indian media is sometimes controlled by the politicians.
@nikki: Tribune in an Internationally renowned newspaper printed all over the world. Read the history of the Tribune newspaper and you will know. Pakistan is lucky to have this paper printed in Pakistan.
@Ammar: "Not every Muslim is a terrorist....but every terrorist is a Muslim. Terrorists kill their own people (like Muslims). Americans, Indians and Jews do not kill their own people. They are at war and they kill who they consider as their enemy. Muslims are the only nation which kill their own people. This is terrorism.
@from india: ET just wanst a lot of readership and by using such terms it ensures that Indians visit their website regularly. It is all about $$$.
Why don't they create sati, honor killings and shria type law's for these type of men. These types of laws always effects women.
Ugly picture of human but i have more hateful feeling for the woman who was involved in this case.
Ugly picture of human but more hateful feelings for a woman who was involved in this case.
This is disgusting but what is worst that we muslims treat other religions as animals and hence they suffer much more. We all are going to be held accountable for the cimes. all the problems we face in our country is because we have migrated from common decency and morality and we will calls names and justify anything in the name of religion. Further we believe other than us all other religion have loose moral values and hence all is acceptable. Disgusting...
@naryana murthy & from India: Glad to see something on which we agree on. Mentioning religion is irrelevant as this happens everywhere around the globe and is not a confined problem.
I must thank Tribune to bring this in public. It must need a lot of courage and committment! Well done Guys! People like you keep my faith in humanity everywhere.
As for the rest, I agree that there are bad apples in every community, it is time it is realised that persecution of minorities in Pakistan is not just a neo-liberal media terrorism! It is a systemic failure of Society at large and Govt in perticular.
If a Hindu would have done the same to Muslim girls in say Gujarat of India, I am sure every "Social, Defence and Strategic analyst" in Pakistan would have been shouting at top of their throat how minorities are persecuted in Inida. I wish there was same reaction for their own fellow citizens - Hindu Pakistanis. That, more then anything, would strengthen Pakistan.
Alas, except for Tribune and Dawn, I see not many outlets which would even voice such things in today's Pakistan.
To be fair, it has got nothing to do with the religion. Perhaps he chose Hindu girls, because they were powerless and meek and not to target Hindus.
Human trafficking is a huge problem in all countries (including developed). The difference is, in most cases the victims don't escape and develop Stockholm syndrome and get used to their new abusive life.
All the prostitutes you find in these countries are victims of similar (if not the same) circumstances. So, religion in my opinion is inconsequential here.
@ John
Hopeless thoughts. Not every muslim is a terrorist. not every chiristian / jew or hindu a saint. Do consider israel killing thousands of palestinian kids and womwn, do consider US killing innocent muslims in Iraq, Afghanistan and everywhere in world for Oil, resources and Power and do watch Indian forces killing / raping over 100, 000 people in Kashmir. An do consider, muslims Edhi, Imran Khan and hundreds like them in every field and society. Dont brag your frustration on pointless and hopeless agenda to spread racism. MAJORITY of muslims and others are humans and they respect that but there are un wanted elements in our society as in yours. Peace.
Will somebody enlighten me abt what does Islam say abt securing a child's sexuality and prevent abuse. Is there a minimum age defined for girls where in they can agree to a marriage or consensual sex?
Many have wondered why the religion of the girl was mentioned. There is a reason. If an abductor has to abduct a small girl for prostitution he will prefer to abduct a girl form a minority group. The reason being the minority parents will not cause as much 'hangama' as Muslim parents. Unfortunately the minorities are suppressed in Pakistan and no one from the police to the government take their case seriously. The abductors know they can get away abducting a Hindu girl but may be caught with a Muslim girl. Such is the state of affairs in Pakistan.
why et has mentioned hindu girls ? why not simply mention teenage girls ? similar things happen even in india but nobody mentions the religion of the abducted girls ...they may belong to any religion !!
A sad and bitter reality of Pakistan who talks big about Kashmir.
Where is the Police, their informers and other agencies when such criminal activities are being run in a very organised way in the cities and within well populated areas? neighbours do not involve themselves in these matters as the persons running such dens are quite influential and well connected, beside paying money to the area authorities. For this reason people have been pleading, since long, that police and other authorities, as much as possible, should be permanent dwellers of the area where they are posted; Thus, naturally they will not tolerate such crimes due to effect on their own families. Further, they definitely would be having acquaintances in the area and automatically should have an easy access to the knowledge who is doing what and what is his source of earning. Control on crimes will become easier and manageable by a short staff.
Can any one explain to me the "Hindu" part of the headline. Forced sex notwithstanding the victim is overage or underage, irrespective of his religious beliefs is heinous.
The more you allow liberals and azaad khayali this will happen. This news is only to tell the world that Pakistan is doing bad to minorities but in reality we have sooooooo many brothels and Muslims are more indulged in all this rather than non muslims. And this media promotes sex, vulgarity nudity all the time through dramas and movies. What else can we expect from such a society?
Now when we say Islam doesn't allow this then liberals will come and tell us Don't force anyone? Now this is the biggest e.g. that a liberal is doing all this and not a religious person. So putting everything on Islam.
@Cynical: Yes the brothel runners were Muslims but so were the NGO people, the rickshaw driver & the man who caught one of the brothel runners (the son). You can not term this a case of discrimination against minorities.
I am sick to my stomach. I am at a loss for words. Mere words cannot express my outrage against these inhuman acts by these scums of the earth. Like the US there should be a hate crime law, where in addition to the regular punishment additional punishment be awarded to target a minority. Being a Pakistani man I personally apologize to these minor girls for this abuse. Beti, I would do everything in my power to try and help you forget this nightmare.
Where is Sharia law when you need it the most? The only solution is to permanently ban all brothels and other places of immoral, unlawful activities. The police should start conducting raids in all such dubious neighborhoods. Who knows how many other people there are suffering from same fate......
Disgusting and shameful. They are innocent children. Sincere apologises to the victims and their families. Where the nabours were in this case? Surely somebody must have noticed the traffic in the night. Big compensation, treatment and full punishment if they are found guilty and also the men that misused the girls.
Give this Rehman guy to the laborers. They'll give him a good taste of his own medicine; the evil parents will come running too. Judge me all you want people, but this is what they really deserve! Oh those poor girls! But why did ET had to specially mention religion here? Do kidnappers/ prostitution mafia runs on hindu girls only? Or is it always pertinent to mention a victim's religion? Strange!
Sick Sick Sick
All done under the supervision of our beloved Police force. It is impossible for such things to happen without the knowledge of the Police. And of coarse the Police also get a commission form Yunous and his wife.
I think that people are overdoing it now. This thing isn't only limited to the minorities, it happens with girls from all religions or sects. True, Pakistan has been harsh on the minorities in so many ways but it isn't a jail either for them. They were living peacefully before the Aasiya Bibi case and Shahbaz Bhatti's and Salmaan Taseer's murder. Since this topic gets too much focus all of us have made it a focal point in all the scenarios. This issue, however, is not only limited to the minorities. Girls from all religions are targetted.
And we talk about oppression and discrimination against Muslims around the world.
good thing she escaped and was able to get the media involved in her case...
Isi waja se Karachi par ALLah ka ye Azab Aya hoa Hai....
Glad this innocent soul's nightmare is over. May God help her in overcoming her scars.
OMG, Insanity at its best. I dont know how can a Human do such things, dont they think of their mothers, sisters, and daughters? This is sad, very very sad
I just hope that guy gets to rot in jail. Seriously a 12 year old ... pains me to even imagine
Shame on us ...please watch out your neighborhood ..!!!give the culprits a examplery punishment which i think. He will never get in Pakistan ...god help. Us
Sad reality in Pakistan , justice for none :(