Marvi Meghwar travelled more than 550 kilometres from her village in Ghotki's Mirpur Mathelo to Karachi after police in her hometown refused to register a case of abduction and alleged forced conversion of her daughter.
Marvi, who is a member of the Hindu community, says her daughter was abducted on March 19. She feared that the girl had been forcibly converted and married off by her abductors in Rahimyar Khan.
"Our community visited police station several time but the police were unwilling to register the case," says Vijay, who accompanied his mother to Karachi.
The Meghwars were among hundreds of protesters of the minority community who protested outside the Sindh Assembly on Thursday demanding an end to forced conversion. The community contends that girls are abducted and converted before being married to elder men.
The protesters, who initially camped outside the press club before moving to the legislative assembly, demanded that their complaints are lodged in police stations in their area.
The rally was organized by Pakistan Darawar Ittehad (PDI) with people from as far as Umerkot, Badin, Tharparkar, Mirpurkhas, Nawabshah, Ghotki, Sukkur and other districts participating in it.
The participants, carrying placards, chanted slogans against forced conversion and the police apathy.
"The police do not listen to us," said Faqir Shiva Kuchhi, the chairman of PDI. "They do not even lodge FIRs on our complaint," he added.
According to Kucchi, 164 girls were allegedly abducted and converted in 2022. "The number could be more as some of the parents do not come forward," he added.
The rally participants also complained that state institutions were not taking the issue seriously, including abduction of their girls.
They also criticised public office holders of the Hindu community for inaction over it.
"We elected them and sent them to the assemblies but they do not care about our abducted children," a speaker said.
Sunny Kumar, another participant at the protest, told The Express Tribune that his sister was abducted in August 2020. "Our FIR was never registered," Kumar said. "The kidnappers in all such cases are so powerful and we as Hindus do not have any say," he said.
Showing his sister's photos, he said that Simran had a psychological condition. "They [abductors] do not even leave people with such conditions," he said.
Demands
In a 15-point agenda, the rally participants demanded the government to pass legislation against forced conversions; to implement the Child Marriage Restraint Act; and representation to Kuchhi, Bheel, Meghwar, Kolhi, Thakur, Baghri, Jogee, Rebari, Odh and other lower caste Hindus in upper and lower houses of parliament.
They also demanded the immediate resumption of the Thar Express so that Hindus could go to their religious places and festivals easily. The occupied lands, graveyards, temples and plots belonging to the Hindu community should immediately be retrieved. They also demanded that separate graveyard land should be allocated for Hindus.
The protesters said they would continue the protest until they had received assurance that their demands had been heard.
No political leader had visited the protestors till the time of the filing of this report.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 31st, 2023.
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