A Christian girl (13) kidnapped and forced to convert to Islam

SIALKOT: A minor Christian girl (Sana Bibi 13) student of class 5^th was forcibly abducted on November 9, 2015 at about 08:00 am when she was going to her School along with her other sister Hina Bibi and later forced to convert to Islam and forcibly married to her Muslim kidnapper Waheed Akhtar who abducted with the support of Ali Raza, Badar and Razia in Sialkot and one unidentified in the Punjab province of Pakistan.

The case FIR No.933/2015 under section 365-B PPC has been registered at Police Station Haji Pura,SialKot with the legal and moral assistance of LEAD against the kidnappers on the same day at evening. The police are using lame excuses to arrest the kidnappers.

Father of the girl Sana pleaded and objected before Police that his daughter is just 13 years old too young for marriage and she is minor of class 5^th.How he can digest the matter.

In her street, Sana’s family is the only Christian family who lives among more than 200 Muslim families. Although very poor, Noreen’s father Shahid John is a laborer and had managed to earn to help the family with only hand to mouth but he is trying to get educated her children so that they could be able to uplift the family from below poverty level.

The family is getting life threats from the kidnappers and the police are silent instead taking proper legal initiative they protect the accused because they are Muslims.

Today November 14, 2015 Sardar Mushtaq Gill, Human Rights Defender appeared in the Court of Nusrat Ullah Khan Niazi additional and Session Judge Pattoki in one another case of forced conversion and marriage of a Christian girl Nabila Bibi for her recovery and protection from Muslim kidnappers. In this case also the victim family and fiance of the victim girl are also under threats.

"We don’t have any issues with a person who converts to another faith out of free will and get married with free consent, but when someone is abducted, forcibly converted and married then it is difficult to keep quiet and silence for the women’s rights and human rights activists in this regard this is an act of sins for them and particularly for me, " said Sardar Mushtaq Gill, Human Rights Defender.

He further added that mostly in such cases Christian women, who are victims of forced conversion and marriages, give statements before the judge in favor of the accused because of fear of apostasy charges and this is the reason the accused immediately forced the victim to convert to Islam and then get married to avoid rape charges . When the cases reach to the Courts, judges hear the cases and give verdict to hand over the girl to the accused if the statement is given in their favor without considering minority of the victims and fear affected on the victim from the accused.

It is surfaced that in most cases, the victim girl may be subjected to sexual violence, rape, forced prostitution, human trafficking and sale, or other domestic abuse or discarded from home after passing some time.

In such issues, the victim’s family usually registers case FIR for abduction or rape with the local police station. The rapist, on behalf of the victim girl, registers a counter case FIR, accusing the Christian family of harassing the willfully converted and married woman and for forcing to convert the woman back to Christianity and sometime it become danger to life if Christian family take legal action against Muslim man.

We at LEAD provide free legal assistance and advocacy to those victims of religious discrimination and violence who can not afford to bear heavy legal cost of counsels and it is only possible with your support and our request to support our work for such poor victim. We are grateful for those who are praying for us and financially supporting our work.