Pakistan’s Hindu neighborhood protest pressured conversions in Sindh

Several members of Pakistan’s minority Hindu neighborhood held a protest march right here to attract consideration to the menace of pressured conversions and marriages of Hindu women and girls within the nation.

Karachi,UPDATED: Mar 31, 2023 15:32 IST

Several members of Pakistan’s minority Hindu neighborhood held a protest in entrance of the Sindh Assembly on Thursday. (Photo: Twitter/Shiva Kachhi)

By Press Trust of India: Several members of Pakistan’s minority Hindu neighborhood held a protest march right here to attract consideration to the menace of pressured conversions and marriages of Hindu women and girls within the nation.

The protest outdoors the Karachi Press Club and on the entrance of the Sindh Assembly constructing on Thursday was organised by Pakistan Darawar Ittehad (PDI), a Hindu organisation.

“We wanted to highlight this big problem facing the Sindhi Hindus, especially in the rural areas where our young girls, some as young as 12 and 13 are abducted in broad daylight, forced to convert to Islam and then married off to older Muslim men,” a member of the PDI stated.

Also Read | UN consultants categorical concern over pressured marriages, conversion of ladies in Pakistan

He stated the protest on Thursday had left some affect as many individuals weren’t even conscious of this crime however admitted they have been anticipating an even bigger turnout.

The protest went off peacefully with numerous policemen standing at a distance from the protesters.

The protesters carried placards and banners which urged the federal government to move a stalled invoice towards the pressured conversion of Hindu women and girls.

In latest months there was a surge in such circumstances in inside Sindh with the decrease courts flooded with functions from affected mother and father searching for justice and the return of their daughters, sisters and wives.

Also Read | Pak’s Sindh govt orders high-level probe as kidnapped Hindu lady stays untraceable

Unfortunately, no consultant from the provincial authorities got here out to hearken to the pleas of the protesters who dispersed peacefully.

In 2019, the difficulty of abducting and forcible conversion of Hindu women in varied districts of Sindh province was taken up within the Sindh Assembly.

A decision was debated and unanimously handed after it was modified over objections of sure lawmakers that it shouldn’t be restricted to solely Hindu women.

But the invoice, which criminalised forcible spiritual conversions was later rejected within the meeting. An identical invoice was once more proposed, nevertheless it acquired rejected in 2021.

In January this 12 months, as many as 12 United Nations rights consultants expressed alarm over the rising incidents of kidnapping, pressured conversions and marriages of ladies as younger as 13 in Pakistan.

Also Read | India urges Pakistan to take instant motion over pressured conversions

Forced conversion and compelled marriages are prohibited in Islam. According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan’s report, round 1,000 women are forcibly transformed to Islam yearly.

Hindus kind the largest minority neighborhood in Pakistan. According to official estimates, 75 lakh Hindus reside within the Muslim-majority nation.

Muslims account for about 96 per cent of Pakistan’s 207 million inhabitants, Hindus 2.1 per cent and Christians about 1.6 per cent in accordance with the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan estimates.

The majority of Pakistan’s Hindu inhabitants is settled in Sindh province the place they share tradition, traditions and language with their Muslim residents.

Posted By:

Raajnandini Mukherjee

Published On:

Mar 31, 2023