2018 University of Birmingham, UK report says evidence from NGOs & others show 'abductions and forced conversions (to Islam) are one of the most serious problems facing Hindu and Christian women and girls' in Sindh, Pakistan

Last updated on 7th Jan. 2020 

Please note that I am NOT anti-Muslim and have great respect for peaceful and law-abiding Muslims of India. I am simply highlighting some bad practices among some Muslims in Pakistan where they persecute religious minorities. I also feel it appropriate to state my belief here: Ishwar Maalik! Allah Maalik! Yesu Maalik! Sabka Maalik Ek![Ishwar is the Lord! Allah is the Lord! Yesu (Jesus) is the Lord! The Lord of all is one!]

The University of Birmingham report is titled, "Forced Conversions and Forced Marriages in Sindh, Pakistan" and seems to have been published in 2018 (its Copyright statement is dated 2018). The Executive Summary of the report is only 4 pages. Here's the 44 page full document link: https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/Documents/college-artslaw/ptr/ciforb/Forced-Conversions-and-Forced-Marriages-in-Sindh.pdf.

The main author is Reuben Ackerman, from CIFoRB, The University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.

The other contributors are:
Javaid Rehman, Professor of Law, Brunel Law School, Brunel University London, UK.
and
Morris Johns, All Party Parliamentary Group for Pakistani Minorities, UK

I have given below an extract from the Executive Summary of the study/report:

It has been estimated that 1000 women and girls from religious minorities are abducted, forcibly converted and then married off to their abductors every year (ref The Aurat Foundation and the Movement for Solidary and Peace (MSP)). Former vice-chairperson of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, Amarnath Motual, notes that 20 or more Hindu girls are abducted every month in Pakistan. [2] The volunteer group, Responsible for Equality and Liberty, also estimate that between 20 to 25 Hindu girls are forcibly converted every month.[3]

Pakistan has signed and ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and ratified the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), of which Article 16 confirms the right of every woman to enter into marriage ‘only with their free and full consent’.[4] Pakistan has ratified the Child Rights Convention, of which Article 14 (1) states that state parties need to respect the right of children to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.[5]

As argued by Professor Heiner Bielefeldt, the state has responsibility to provide protection against individuals or organisations that try to convert people by resorting to means of coercion or by directly exploiting situations of particular vulnerability. ‘They also have a responsibility to ensure that forced conversions do not occur in the context of marriage or marriage negotiations.’ [6]

However, as this report shows, Pakistan is failing to fulfil their obligations under these international treaties to protect the rights of vulnerable minorities from forced conversions and forced marriages.

The reality of forced conversions and forced marriages in Pakistan

In most cases the victim is abducted and is then subjugated to sustained emotional and physical abuse often involving threats of violence towards their loved ones.

Evidence provided by numerous NGOs, journalists and academics have shown that abductions and forced conversions are one of the most serious problems facing Hindu and Christian women and girls.

Minorities often do not receive the protection required from state institutions and lack access to justice [7]. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan reports that the police often turn a blind eye to reports of abduction and forced conversions thereby creating impunity for perpetrators. The police will often either refuse to record a First Information Report or falsify the information, thereby denying families the chance to take their case any further. Both the lower and higher courts of Pakistan have failed to follow proper procedures in cases that involve accusations of forced marriage and forced conversions. The judiciary are often subject to fear of reprisal from extremist elements, in other cases the judicial officers’ personal beliefs influence them into accepting the claims made that the woman/girl converted on her own free will.

There is often no investigation into the circumstances under which the conversion takes place and the age of the girl is often ignored. The girl/woman involved is largely left in the custody of her kidnapper throughout the trial process where she is subject to further threats to force her into denying her abduction and rape and claiming that the conversion was willing.

Many religious institutions, local mosques and seminaries fail to investigate the nature of the conversion or the age of the bride and mostly simply accept the word of the abductor. Some organisations, like Minhaj-ul-quran, routinely and as a matter of official policy, encourage the practice of converting members of minority communities by offering rewards for successful conversions. They say that it is the equivalent of Haj-e-Akbari, or the greatest religious duty to Muslims.[8]

[References:
2 Submission to UNOHCHR during Pakistan’s 3rd Universal Periodic Review, p. 5 http://unpo.org/downloads/2075.pdf

3 REAL, Pakistan, http://www.realcourage.org/2010/03/pakistan-25-hindu-girls-abducted-everymonth/ [accessed 3/9/2017] [Ravi: Link seems to be protected now and so not accessible - 4th Jan. 2020]

4 UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, ‘Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women’ http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/text/econvention.htm [accessed 3/9/2017] [Ravi: Link is broken when I checked on 4th Jan. 2020]

5 UNOHCHR, ‘Convention on the Rights of the Child’
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CRC.aspx [accessed 2/9/2017]

6 Heiner Bielefeldt, Freedom of Religion and Belief: Thematic Reports of the UN Special Rapporteur 2010-2016, 2nd Edn (Verlag für Kultur und Wissenschaft, 2017), p. 112.

7 HRCP, Belief and relief access to justice for religious minorities (Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, 2014) p. 11. http://hrcp-web.org/hrcpweb/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Access-tojustice-for-religious-minorities-Expert-Group-Report.pdf [Ravi: Link is broken when I checked on 4th Jan. 2020]

8 Asian Human Rights Commission, “Pakistan: Another Hindu Girl Forcibly Converted to Islam After Being Abducted,” 9/1/2007, http://www.ahrchk.net/ua/mainfile.php/2007/2158/ [accessed 7/7/2017]

end-References]
--- end extract from Executive Summary of University of Birmingham report ---

The section titled, "Socio-economic and cultural position of those vulnerable to attack" on Page 7 of the report shows how many of these Pakistani Hindus come from historically suppressed Hindu castes (Dalits). But there are other non-Dalit Hindus too in this area.

The section mentions that these Hindus are a large part of Sindh's landless bonded labour which service the agriculture and brick kilns of Sindh - the backbone of the Sindh economy. Note that officially bonded labour has been outlawed in Sindh but in reality that continues in some form, as per the report.

Given below is an extract from that section of the report:
The situation of bonded labour places people in a virtually powerless position vis-à-vis those who own their labour. For example, 14-year-old Jeevti from Sindh, the daughter of Hindu bonded labourers, was abducted in the middle of the night from the family’s home by the landlord. She was converted to Islam and forcibly married to the landlord as his second wife because he claimed that the family owed him $1000.

The girl’s mother went to the police and the courts and they did nothing to act against the influential and powerful man despite the fact that Jeevti stated that she had no idea what was in the police documents which included an affidavit that she had converted and married of her own free will. [22]

Hindus, both Dalits and non-Dalits, even if they aren’t in bonded labour, are forced into low-status jobs that many Muslims refuse to take, such as sweeping streets or sewage cleaning.[23] This shows that the government has clearly failed to remove discrimination in jobs. This lack of socioeconomic power perpetuates the weak position of Hindus in society.

[Refs:
22. ‘They Always Choose the Prettiest’: How Girls are Enslaved for Debt Payment in Pakistan,’ 23/12/2016, Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/they-alwayschoose-the-prettiest-how-girls-are-enslaved-for-debt-payment-inpakistan/articleshow/56137395.cms [accessed 06/09/2017] [Ravi: Link is broken when I checked on 4th Jan. 2020. But I found a similar article here about the same case: ‘Modern slaves’: In south Pak, Hindu girls are snatched away for debt payment, https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/modern-slaves-in-south-pakistan-girls-are-snatched-away-for-debt-payment/story-B9gZgDucV3ynpTjpXzSHdO.html, 23rd Dec. 2016. ]

23 Javiad Rehman, ‘Pakistan’ in Durham et al. (eds.), Encylopedia of Law and Religion (Brill-Nijhoff, 2016) ]
--- end extract from section of report ---

[I thank University of Birmingham and have presumed that they will not have any objections to me sharing the above extract from their report on this post which is freely viewable by all, and does not have any financial profit motive whatsoever.]
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5th Jan. Update.

Here is Indian cricket star Harbhajan Singh's recent tweet content and the tweet it shares:

"Awal Alaaah noor upaya, kudrat k sab bandhe, Ek Noor te jagg peya upjeya,kon bhalle ko Mandhe..apas mai ladne se koi masla hal nahi hoga..pyar se sarre masle hal hote hai🙏 dhan guru Nanak bhul chuk maff kari.. sab tere bandhe 🙏", https://twitter.com/harbhajan_singh/status/1213510300206387205

[Text content of shared tweet: https://twitter.com/ShahabSpeaks/status/1213460567010267142, which has a video of the person speaking in Urdu/Punjabi: "The person who uttered objectionable words against Sikhs yesterday apologises today for his misconduct.

Says Gurdwara has never and will never be attacked. Muslims and Sikhs live like brothers and will continue doing so."]

I shared the above Harbhajan Singh tweet with following introduction/share text of mine: "Wonderful to see this development of the person who made the atrocious statements against Nankana Sahib and Sikh community there, withdrawing it and seeking forgiveness. May God give him strength and keep him on peaceful Islam path living in peace with Sikh community there.", https://twitter.com/RaviSaiIyer/status/1213699577758404609

Perhaps Pakistan PM, Mr. Imran Khan, and/or his office had noted the tweet of Harbhajan Singh (I am quite sure they have both played in same cricket matches but representing Pakistan and India respectively), and initiated some action resulting in this apology and goodwill to Sikhs statement of the person. If so, Mr. Imran Khan must be thanked and congratulated for this wonderful work of his towards improving inter-religious harmony in Pakistan.

---- end 5th Jan Update ----

Additional info. from a recent Facebook post of mine,  https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2712529438963616, which is relevant to this matter:

Watch: Pak man threatens to take over Nankana Sahib, rename it Ghulam Ali Mustafa, https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/videos/news/watch-pak-man-threatens-to-take-over-nankana-sahib-rename-it-ghulam-ali-mustafa/videoshow/73087635.cms, 3rd Jan. 2020.

This shows the unfortunate reality of religious discrimination against minorities in Pakistan. In this case it is the Sikhs who are the target of discrimination.

Additional background to this matter is that as per this article, https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/muslims-mob-attack-gurdwara-nankana-sahib-with-stones/articleshow/73088062.cms, updated on 4th Jan. 2020, the local Muslims were resentful of local Sikhs (in Pakistan) opposition to alleged forcible conversion of a Sikh girl (daughter of some person associated with one of the Gurudwaras of the area) to Islam and her (forcible) marriage to a Muslim boy.

Since I became an adult (in 1980) and was reading up/aware of such matters as reported in Indian mainstream media, I have never ever heard of any similar case in India of a girl of a minority religion (Muslim or Christian or Sikh or Buddhist or Jain or Zoroastrian/Parsee or Jew) being abducted and converted to the majority religion (Hinduism) and being forced to marry a Hindu.

I find it hard to imagine life as a minority religious community person in  Pakistan. I mean girls being abducted and forced to convert to Islam and marry Muslim boys! That is utterly horrific.

Now this may be happening only in rural areas in Pakistan and not in the major cities. But wherever such things happen, they are utterly horrific.

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Given below are my comments (slightly edited) from my Facebook post,  https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2713159192233974, associated with this blog post:

In response to a comment, I wrote:
Noted your comments. They are into very sensitive zones which I very much hesitate to enter.
My focus on the post was on some Muslims in Pakistan who engage in this horrific religious persecution. I don't think all Muslims in Pakistan engage in such stuff.

Further, there are, and have been for decades, large number of Indian workers and (white collar) staff in Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain etc. but I never heard of such cases of abduction of Hindu or Christian girls and women in such countries either from the Indian workers/staff & their families or from other countries' workers/staff & their families.

So Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam and which has the two holiest sites of Islam, Mecca and Medina, does not have this horrific stuff today but Pakistan does! So the problem that I have highlighted seems to be an issue with some parts of Pakistani Islamic society (and perhaps that happens to lesser or more degree in some parts of Afghanistani Islamic society and Bangladeshi Islamic society too) but not Saudi Arabian Islam(ic society) or, in general, Arab Islam(ic society), today. That is a terrible blot on today's Pakistan, and if that happens in today's Afghanistan and today's Bangladesh, then on them too.

Shirdi Sai Baba used to often say, 'Allah Malik'. From outward appearance he was like a Muslim fakir. But he encouraged worship of God in Hindu as well as Muslim ways (and perhaps other ways too like Parsi/Zoroastrian).

I hope and pray that more and more Shirdi Sai Baba like teachers appear amongst our Muslim brothers and sisters in the world so that there is peace and harmony between our Muslim brothers and sisters, and followers of all other (mainstream) religions.
...
I would like to add that Indonesia and Malaysia are both Muslim majority countries in South East Asia and where Hindu minorities live (and I guess there would be Christian minorities too in these countries). I don't think Indonesia and Malaysia have this horrific problem of abduction of girls & women of minorities and forced conversion to Islam, and forced marriage to Muslim men. I mean, there are much more advanced and safer for minorities Islamic countries in the world than Pakistan! Pakistan perhaps needs to learn from them and get out of such horrific practices.
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Given below are some of my tweet responses on my tweet thread,  https://twitter.com/RaviSaiIyer/status/1213401228354281473, related to this post:

Bro. It is a half hour video and the language in the intro text part is very aggressive. That's something I am not so comfortable about. BTW the blog post: https://ravisiyer.blogspot.com/2020/01/2018-university-of-birmingham-uk-report.html has an update you may want to see.
...
I saw part of it. It is an argument in a very charged atmosphere. Such arguments may be good for TV audiences and so money but perhaps not so good for improving understanding of the situ. Note that Shirdi Sai Baba preached unity of Hindus & Muslims in late 1800s and early 1900s.
...
Bro. There is a lot of unpleasant sathyam in all religions including Hinduism. Don't forget that. I hope you are not anti-Muslim. If so, that is a serious concern for me. Jai Sai Ram!
...
Good. Following Sathya Sai (or Shirdi Sai) teachings with respect to Islam is safe. They are ***divine*** teachings going beyond politics and power-craze driven violence in religions. Sathya Sai has spoken a lot about Shirdi Sai. All the best.
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Good share. Had read it earlier but was good to read it again. You are on right track, IMHO. Calling out bad acts of some people indulging in violent and criminal acts of religious discrimination (e.g. abduction of girls, forcible conversion and forcible marriage) is good ... ... as such bad acts should be resisted. But tarring the whole religious community with the same brush because of some bad actors is wrong.
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