While protests for Chanda Mahraj continue, not even being married keeps young women from religious minorities safe from abduction.
by Marco Respinti
There used to be one way for girls belonging to religious minorities to avoid being kidnapped, forcibly converted to Islam, and married to Muslim men in Pakistan: getting married early. This is what Shanti Meghwar, from Tando Muhammad Khan in Southern Sindh, did. To no avail, as she has now been kidnapped by one Manzoor Shaikh and his friends. After having taken money from her parents for “expenses,” the police did not take any action.
Kidnapping of young Hindu girls and forced conversions are now routine in Sindh. There have been eight cases in the last two weeks. On October 14 Hina Kolhi, a resident of Khosa Colony of Tando Ghulam Ali, was kidnapped, forcibly converted to Islam, and married to one Mustafa Dahokar.
Salma Meghwar was abducted at gunpoint from her house in Dhandhari, near Thatta by Shahid Unar. 14-year-old Shalmi Meghwar was kidnapped in Islamkot. Two girls called Kareena and Sakeena were abducted in Saleh Pat, Sukkur.
The risk is that the international public opinion will become accustomed to the horrific phenomenon of kidnapping and forced conversions of young women in Pakistan and will stop protesting, while protests abroad may be the only hope for the abducted girls.
In the case of Chanda Maharaj, the 15-year-old Hindu girl who was kidnapped, rescued by the police, then given back to her captor by a court decision, protests continue in different cities and towns of Pakistan, and on social media internationally, thanks also to the Bitter Winter articles.
A 2019 law raised the minimum age for marriage to 18. The court has appointed doctors who should examine Chanda and determine whether her “biological age” is 18, as judges claim that birth certificates in the area cannot be trusted. However, the court refuses to disclose the name of the doctors to Chanda’s parents, who want her examined by physicians from the Hindu or another religious minority. The court is unlikely to agree.
