INTRODUCTION:

The white strip in the national flag remains constant but it is no longer an acknowledgement of the presence of religious minorities in Pakistan. Shrinking numbers, shrinking space, shrinking visibility, and above all shrinking rights. This, in a nutshell, is the status of religious minorities in Pakistan. There is an unending list of unaddressed complaints regarding discrimination, injustices, marginalization, and hatred spewed against different religious minority groups in books taught at our schools over the last 70 years.

Pakistan has become highly scrappy and reduced in peace and safety for present and future generations. Religious minorities live in constant fear, vulnerable situations, and identical and epistemological crises. Women and minor girls have been abducted, kidnapped, raped, and forcefully converted and married to the abductor regularly. Nowadays, it’s become the most popular practice in Pakistan, especially with the women of minority communities such as Hindu, Christian, and Sikh.

BACKGROUND:

Beforehand even the discriminatory and derogatory behavior, injustices, and intolerance towards religious minorities is fragile and worse since the inception of Pakistan. They have always been treated as aliens and second-class citizens, deprived of their fundamental rights provided by the Constitution. The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom mentioned in its country update report that Pakistan was established as an Islamic Republic in 1956, granting special status to Islam

and constitutionally establishing Islam as the State Religion. In its more than seventies age, Pakistan has declined as the premium place for better quality and standard protected life, liberty is the death door, no one is safe, extremism has deadly hit the generations, and people are being killed in the name of blasphemy, women are being raped and harassed because they were without males. A patriarchal mindset and power dynamics of the state in single hands have ruined its beauty. The narrative of hatred, discrimination, disrespect, and intolerance has been built up and artificially created for their collided interests in different segments of the state. And socially constructed that one is better than another in the name of religion, color, creed, or sex which has adversely affected people.

CASE STUDIES:

1. Rinkal Kumari Case

Rinkal Kumari, a Hindu girl from Pakistan, was kidnapped and forced to convert to Islam in 2012. She was allegedly abducted by a powerful politician’s son, who claimed they had a love affair. However, Rinkal’s family and supporters disputed this, saying she was coerced into marriage and conversion. The case sparked widespread outrage and raised concerns about forced conversions and minority rights in Pakistan. The Supreme Court eventually intervened, and Rinkal was allowed to decide her fate. She chose to return to her family, but the case highlighted the ongoing challenges faced by religious minorities in Pakistan.

2. Reena and Raveena Case

Reena and Raveena, two Hindu teenage sisters from Pakistan, were kidnapped and forced to convert to Islam in 2014. The case drew widespread attention due to allegations of coercion and exploitation by a powerful cleric. The sisters initially stated they had converted willingly, but later claimed they were forced and wanted to return to their family. The case sparked outrage and raised concerns about forced conversions, minority rights, and the treatment of Hindu girls in Pakistan. The Supreme Court eventually took notice, and the sisters were allowed to reunite with their family. The case

highlighted the vulnerabilities of minority communities in Pakistan and the need for greater protection and support.

3. Sohana Sharma Case

Sohana Sharma, a Pakistani Hindu girl, was kidnapped from her home in 2023 and forced to convert to Islam. She was then married off to a Muslim man. Sohana’s family claimed she was coerced and demanded her return. The case sparked widespread outrage and protests in Pakistan, with many calling for action against forced conversions and child marriages. The Sindh High Court eventually took notice, and Sohana was recovered and reunited with her family. Her case highlighted the ongoing issues of forced conversions, abduction, and child marriages in Pakistan, particularly among minority communities.

4. Arzo Raja Case

Arzoo Raja, a 13-year-old Pakistani Christian girl, was kidnapped from her home in Karachi in 2020. She was forced to convert to Islam and marry a 44-year-old Muslim man. Arzoo’s family reported the kidnapping, but the police initially failed to act. The case sparked widespread outrage and protests, with many demanding Arzoo’s safe return. The Sindh High Court eventually intervened, and Arzoo was recovered and reunited with her family. Her case highlighted the growing concerns about forced conversions, child marriages, and the exploitation of minority girls in Pakistan.

CAUSES & CONSEQUENCES:

The violence and atrocities against the minority population seem to be an everyday occurrence. Sindh government attempted twice to outlaw forced conversion and marriage by presenting the protection of minority bill to placing the age limit of 18 years upon conversions in 2016 and revised again in 2019 but both times bill was rejected due to besieged threats from religious leaders.

Forced Conversion is a rapidly growing issue faced by religious minorities in Majority-Muslim Countries. For better understanding, Forced conversion is the practice or adoption of a different religion under threat, duress, or influence. However, conversion is a free choice and right of the individual but when it’s done against the person’s free consent it becomes an illegal omission, and to profess and practice religion through forcibly intimidating the girl and parents to testify that the practice was lawful.

The law enforcement agencies and officials have failed to ensure the safety and protection of minority communities not only under the Children Marriage Restraint Act 1929, Section 498-B of the Pakistan Penal Code and fundamental rights given in the constitution of Pakistan and it is part of international treaties, convention and also have ratified them but still failed to comply. Until now, there have been breaches of signatory obligations under the CRC, CEDAW, and UDHR. In such cases, victims have first been abducted, raped, and forcibly converted to Islam, and then married to their abductors or wrongdoers.

Several Human rights organizations are currently working on this issue and they have stated the estimated number of a thousand Hindu and Christian girls forcibly converted every year. Unfortunately, most of the cases are unreported and unhighlighted in the various rural areas.

In such cases, the families or the guardians are scared to register any case against the perpetrators as death threats are issued to them if they raise their voices. Moreover, the dilemma is that the government and stakeholders are not accepting the bitter truth of forced conversions. Victim-blaming is at its peak as they have claimed that the girls are using their rights and free will to convert to Islam with the interest and motivation towards its teaching and practices. Interestingly most of the girls are largely underage and are converting and approximately the age number of those girls is 12 to 14 years.

According to USCIRF Report 24, In January, UN Human Rights experts expressed concern at the reported increase in forced conversions of Christians and Hindu girls in Pakistan.

According to USCIRF Report 2021, Every year thousands of minor girls from minority communities are abducted, raped, forcibly converted and married. Further, the incidents of forced marriages more than half involving minors in the annual report 2021. Authorities and officials do not

take any proper action and they claimed that victims willingly converted to Islam.

However, Pakistan has been recommended for Countries of Particular Concern CPC this year, which is such shameful news for its nation and its declining image in the world.

LEGAL FRAMEWORK:

These are the laws and policies which apply to the issue of forced conversion of minority girls in Pakistan. however, which includes international treaties and conventions along with local laws.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Pakistan signed this declaration, which states that people have the right to change their religion and cannot be forced to change it.

Child Marriage Restraint Act (1929): This law raised the minimum age of marriage to 18, but it has not been implemented or enforced in many parts of Pakistan.

Sindh Child Marriage Restraint Act (2013): This law also raised the minimum age of marriage to 18 in Sindh province, but it too has not been properly enforced.

Anti-Forced Conversion Bill: This bill was rejected in 2021, with the government saying it wasn’t the right time for it. Experts and human rights groups have called for new laws to stop forced conversions and marriages.

UN Experts’ Recommendations (2023): The UN human rights experts urged Pakistan to pass laws to stop forced conversions, marriages, and trafficking. They also asked for better access to justice for victims and their families, who often face discrimination and difficulties in getting help from the police and courts.

SOLUTIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS:

Solutions:

1. Enact and enforce strict laws against forced conversions, kidnapping, and child marriages.
2. Educate people about the dangers of forced conversions and promote interfaith understanding.
3. Provide safe shelters, counseling, and legal aid to victims of forced conversions.
4. Encourage community leaders to speak out against forced conversions and promote tolerance.

Policy Changes:

1. Raise the minimum age for marriage to 18 to prevent child marriages.
2. Require counseling for those seeking to convert to ensure it’s a voluntary decision.
3. Train the police to handle forced conversion cases sensitively and effectively.
4. Use NADRA (National Database and Registration Authority) to verify age and consent for conversions and marriages.

Actions:

1. Encourage victims and their families to report forced conversion cases. 2. Use media to raise awareness about forced conversions and their impact.
2. Promote interfaith dialogue to build understanding and trust among different communities.
3. Hold government officials accountable for preventing and responding to forced conversion cases.

CONCLUSION:

It is the responsibility of the state and the justice system to safeguard those vulnerable groups through positive legislation and policy-making. Along with them the politicians, youth, and civil society play their role in the peaceful persuasion of rights and justice for religious minorities. This type of sedating and inhumane act shouldn’t be tolerated and must come to an end.