(Not) forced conversions: Women converts choose spouses
A three-judge bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, had earlier sent the three women to the Panah shelter home, so that they could decide their future without any pressure or fear.
The court was hearing a petition, filed by Dr Rumaish Kumar, patron-in-chief of the Pakistan Hindu Council.
The petitioner alleged that the three women – Rinkle Kumari, Dr Lata and Asha Kumari from interior of Sindh – were abducted and forced to convert to Islam. After conversion, they were renamed Faryal, Hafsa Bibi and Haleema Bibi, respectively.
On Wednesday, the three women submitted their statements in the Registrar Office of the Supreme Court wherein they said that they wanted to live with their husbands and not their parents.
Justice Chaudhry sent them to the Registrar Office after relatives tried to influence the girls in the courtroom. The bench observed that since the girls were adult, they could decide their future.
The bench then directed police chiefs (DIGs) of Sukkur and Jacobabad districts, to which the girls belong, to ensure the three converts and their husbands live in a place of their choice. The court also made the police responsible for the security of the couples.
The court closed the case and directed the police to submit a fortnightly report in this regard.
Not happy with the court ruling, parents said that the women should have been asked to submit their statements in the courtroom, and not the Registrar Office. They also staged a protest outside the apex court building.
On her part, Faryal reiterated that she was neither kidnapped, nor forcibly proselytised. She added that she has embraced Islam of her own choosing.
In his petition, the Pakistan Hindu Council patron-in-chief has asked for legislation to stop alleged forced conversions of faith. The court has sought the federal government’s response to discourage forced conversions and address other issues faced by the Hindu community.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 19th, 2012.
COMMENTS (14)
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Imagine whom the liberal fascists would support if a muslim girl runs away to marry the man of her choice of her own will. The parents or the husband? They (liberals) are hypocrites as proven by this case.
These people always believe in the 'voluntarily embraced Islam' story because their own chauvinism always leads them to believe their religion is better than everybody else's.
How did these girls decide to marry these boys, if they had not met them before? Has the court recognized that they were abducted?
please see the link to know the tragic truth. Mian mithu beat the girls in court room and terrorised the families and local judges. To save their families from killing, girls lied that they converted freely http://save-rinkel.blogspot.in/2012/04/painful-videos-of-abducted-girls-family.html#more
I often wondered what's so special about these women that drives macho men going viral. Now I think I have the answer. It's the religion of these women that make them irresistable.
@SaQiB:
Yes...and they have the gall to insert (not) in the title as a cheeky way of reminding people that they were wrong and they still didnt apologize. You can fool some of the people some of the time but you cant fool all the people all the time....give it a little time...it takes months for good plans to catch up
I can only laugh at the liberal fascists (ET in particular) who were trying to make a mountain out of a molehill in this case.............................. thats really really n really embarrassing for them......... :-D
Justice have been served. Now no matter how much you foreigners cry foul it will do you no good, your propaganda campaign against Islam and Pakistan ends here. Nobody will take you seriously any more!
16 year old is a minor, she has no rights to take any dicision on marriage/conversion before she attains 18.
The bench observed that since the girls were adult, they could decide their future.
Islam and their marriage is the decision of the girls, now respect it and close the topic.
So these were not cases of forced conversion after all. These women embraced Islam of their own choosing. Congratulations to them. However, it is important that we have strong legislation against forced conversions, if they do happen. However, the activits should be booked and brought to justice if they still raise any hue and cry over these conversions.
What would happen to them if they chose not to after having been converted? Forced or not, I've yet to see any bending from Muslim mobs on that little aspect of it.
Are Hindus in Pakistan so conservative that they would not let their daughters marry muslims even if the daughters want to marry them? Or is it that Hindu girls are kidnapped and raped and left in a situation where they have no option but to accept their rapists as husbands. If this be the case, and the situation is not acceptable to Hindus, why do they not leave Pakistan. One thing is certain- they will never get fair treatment in Pakistan.