UN rights specialists deplore abductions, compelled marriages and conversions of women from Pakistan’s non secular minorities.
Rights specialists from the United Nations have deplored abductions, compelled marriages and conversions of women from Pakistan’s non secular minorities, urging the federal government to swiftly halt such practices.
“We're deeply troubled to listen to that ladies as younger as 13 are being kidnapped from their households, trafficked to areas removed from their houses, made to marry males generally twice their age, and coerced to transform to Islam,” the specialists mentioned in a press release on Monday.
“We're very involved that such marriages and conversions happen underneath risk of violence to those women and girls, or their households.”
The UN specialists referred to as on Pakistan’s authorities “to take speedy steps to stop and completely examine these acts”.
In response, Pakistan’s federal minister for human rights, Riaz Hussain Pirzada, instructed Al Jazeera the federal government is doing its greatest to make sure safety of human rights of the nation’s minorities.
“Pakistan’s courts are cognisant of the scenario and they're specializing in guaranteeing implementation of human rights. They're even issuing instructions in instances of compelled conversions and little one marriages. We've got arrange helplines and given directions to deal with such issues,” he mentioned on Tuesday.
The UN specialists’ assertion got here as activists from Pakistan’s Hindu and Christian communities proceed to report abductions and compelled conversions of younger ladies within the Muslim majority nation.
Yearly, dozens of women – principally youngsters – from the Hindu group primarily within the southern province of Sindh fall sufferer to this observe, facilitated by non secular leaders and teams, based on activists.
Compelled conversions and compelled marriages are forbidden in Islam.
In keeping with the 2017 census, there are 4.4 million Hindus in Pakistan – 2.14 p.c of whole inhabitants – whereas Christians quantity round 2.6 million, or 1.27 p.c of the inhabitants.
Dr Ramesh Kumar Vankwani of the Pakistan Hindu Council, a Karachi-based consultant physique of Hindus in Pakistan, instructed Al Jazeera that whereas the variety of instances just isn't as enormous as it's made out to be, there may be authorities inaction over the matter.
“The federal government has not proven willingness to provoke a laws. So even when there's a single case, it's handled as if there are 10 instances, and it ends in disrepute to the nation,” he mentioned.
“The absence of a [federal] regulation to stop the scenario leaves sure components in society to take benefit. We'd like laws to cease this.”
The rights specialists, who're appointed by the UN Human Rights Council however don't converse on behalf of the world physique, additionally pointed to reviews indicating that Pakistan’s courtroom system permits offences in opposition to non secular minority ladies and younger ladies “by accepting, with out important examination, fraudulent proof”.
“Members of the family say that victims’ complaints are not often taken critically by the police, both refusing to register these reviews or arguing that no crime has been dedicated by labelling these abductions as ‘love marriages’,” they mentioned.
The UN specialists identified that abductors usually “drive their victims to signal paperwork which falsely attest to their being of authorized age for marriage in addition to marrying and changing of free will”.
“These paperwork are cited by the police as proof that no crime has occurred,” they mentioned.
Peter Jacob, researcher and government director at Centre for Social Justice Pakistan, a Lahore-based advocacy group, accused the Pakistani authorities of “outright denial” of the difficulty.
“In instances of compelled conversions and little one marriages, faith is used as a canopy, so the kid who has been compelled to transform is rarely produced in courtroom and therefore they can't specific if the conversion or marriage occurred by will or by drive,” he instructed Al Jazeera.
However minister Pirzada mentioned reviews of an rising variety of compelled conversions are a part of a “nefarious agenda by Pakistan’s enemies”.
“We all know there are people who find themselves paid to run campaigns and put together reviews in opposition to the nation, and we all know the aim is to malign the nation,” he mentioned.
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