ICC Note:
The provincial government of Sindh, Pakistan has rejected a bill that would make it illegal to forcefully convert an individual to another religion. Religious minorities have expressed disappointment over the rejection as many saw it as a defense against widespread forced conversions. According to the Movement for Solidarity and Peace Pakistan, as many as 1,000 Christian and Hindu girls are forcefully converted to Islam every year. Often, kidnapping, rape, and forced marriage are tools used by extremists to trap their victims long term. Will a new bill be proposed to help these victims of forced conversion?
01/11/2017 Pakistan (Asia News) – The Government of Sindh Province has rejected a law that punishes forced conversions with jail time, including life imprisonment.
Welcomed by Pakistan’s religious minorities as a real breakthrough to ensure full freedom of belief and bulwark against forced conversions, the bill was adopted unanimously by the provincial assembly last November.
Speaking to Asia News, Christian and Hindu activists expressed “great regret” and bemoan the dangerous step backwards.
“We can do nothing to prevent kidnappings and conversions of our underage daughters,” said Mukhee Lal Chand, president of the Hindu General Panchayat in Jacobabad District. “This is really an injustice. We really needed this law”.
Forced conversion to Islam, especially of girls, is a real scourge among Pakistan’s eight million Hindus. According to a report by Asian Human Rights Commission, at least 1,000 Pakistani girls are forced into Muslim marriages and made to convert to Islam annually.
Last week, Sindh Governor Saeeduzzaman Siddiqi rejected the Sindh Minorities Rights Commission Bill. Nand Kumar, a Muslim Member of the Sindh Assembly, had proposed the bill.
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