01-26-2006, 10:12 PM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->RIGHTS-PAKISTAN:
Women Fall Prey to Coerced Conversions
Zofeen Ebrahim
 KARACHI , Jan 17 (IPS) - When Pakistani cricketer Yousuf Youhana,
the only Christian in the national team, announced that he had
embraced Islam to become Mohammad Yousuf last September, the
conversion hit the headlines everywhere.
 Editorial writers and the public speculated about the reason for
days. Some ascribed it to peer pressure: the influence of ex-
cricketer Saeed Anwar who is a member of the non-political Tableeghi
Jamaat religious cult. Others said, more wryly, that the cricketer
might be just improving his chances of getting to lead the Pakistan
team.
But the conversion of three Hindu girls, a few weeks later, went
almost unnoticed in the media. There was little concern that the
girls, Reena (21), Aishwariya (19), and Reema (17), from a lower
middle-class family in Karachi's Punjab Colony, had run away from
home to become Muslims.
 Their father Sanao Menghwar and mother Champa, who searched for them
for two weeks, said they tried to lodge a complaint at the local
police station but were not allowed.
 The police finally registered a complaint on Oct. 22 on the
intervention of a deputy superintendent of police. Three Muslim
youths, identified as suspects by Menghwar, were apprehended, but
later released on bail when the girls testified that they had only
helped them convert.
 Soon after, the family received an envelope containing affidavits
signed by their daughters that stated they had converted to Islam of
their own accord and had changed their names to Anam, Afshan and Nida
respectively. Moreover, they said they didn't want to stay with their
parents; preferring to live in the madrassa (religious school) where
they were being instructed.
 The parents went to court, which ordered that the police arrange a
meeting between the parents and the girls. The meeting took place in
the presence of the police, the madrassa instructor and a local
woman. The girls were veiled in black, only their eyes showing. The
father says his youngest daughter's eyes were bloodshot from weeping.
 Thereafter, following a notification by the Supreme Court of
Pakistan, the girls were shifted to the Edhi Home for destitute
women, run by a prominent charitable organisation, where they are
allowed to meet their parents and go for their religious education.
 ''It just doesn't seem right, the whole episode reeks of human rights
violation," says Ayesha Mir, programme coordinator at the women's
rights organisation, Shirkatgah, that has been closely monitoring the
case. ''There are too many questions that remain unanswered," she
adds.
 ''Why did the women seek shelter in a madrassa? Why did they veil
themselves in front of their parents, no Muslim woman does that?" she
asks.
 Rights activists say the girls have been victimised threefold: they
are poor, belong to a minority community, and are women.
 In another case, three years ago, Sundri, a college student in
Larkana, went to college one day, never to return home. Two weeks
later, the police told her parents that she had eloped with a Muslim
man and converted to Islam. The marriage did not last. Neither did
two others. She died shortly after the third, in mysterious
circumstances.
 Anis Haroon, director of Aurat Foundation, a voluntary agency that
works for the empowerment of women, says that conversions like these
need to be discussed as a ''constitutional issue, not a women's
rights or religious issue."
 ''Minority women, in general, remain more vulnerable than men," says
Javed Jabbar, former information minister. He reckons their low
status in the discriminatory caste system, compounded by the
shrinking numbers of Hindus -- a mere 2.7 million of the country's
140 million people -- makes women more susceptible. ''The rights of
Hindu women require special protection and enforcement by the state,"
he says.
 Tasneem Ahmar, director of UKS, which monitors the portrayal of
women in the media, wonders why more women are converting. ''We have
to find answers soon before this sort of conversion becomes a
legitimised practice," she says.
 A report by a Pakistani journalist in Mid-Day, an Indian tabloid, on
Nov. 15 says: ''at least 19 such abduction cases have occurred in
Karachi alone", last year. A shaken Hindu community is ''marrying off
their daughters as soon as they are of marriageable age or migrate to
India, Canada or other nations," he writes.
 In the recent conversion, the lawyer representing the father of the
three girls, Raja Hussain, says the girls were forced to marry their
captors. He claimed they were kidnapped and harassed by the three
youths. As evidence, he said the girls refused to respond when asked
if they were going to marry the youths.
 Article 20 of Pakistan's Constitution protects the rights of
citizens to practice their religion. ''Then what is the basis or
rationale for someone to exercise force against anyone for exercising
his or her rights under these provisions?" wonders Justice Nasir
Aslam Zahid, a retired Supreme Court judge
 ''Apparently none," he adds. ''The constitution neither approves,
expressly or impliedly, nor permits any forcible conversion.
Violation of others' rights is not justifiable on any ground."
 He advises that every effort should be made to ascertain if the
decision to convert was made voluntarily. It is necessary for police
and judicial officers to be trained, and an atmosphere created where
they can discharge their duties ''without fear of retaliation", he
adds.
 Haroon puts the blame squarely on the state. ''It has been unable to
guarantee civil rights to its people, specifically its minorities,"
she says.
 Jabbar believes it is everyone's responsibility. ''All citizens have
an obligation to protect minorities and prevent coercive conversion.
The overwhelming majority of Pakistanis are very tolerant and
respectful of religious minorities," he says.
 When Shirkatgah visited Punjab Colony to investigate the conversion,
they reported that the neighbourhood was very tense. ''People were
visibly scared and those Hindus, who had earlier told us that they
would talk to us, refused to even recognise us when we went a second
time. The father who spoke to us for 45Â minutes, peered outside
three times to see if someone was eavesdropping."
 ''People are a little wary à they can be slapped with the blasphemy
law and put behind bars," explains Shirkatgah's Mir. She thinks the
apex court which provided the three women police protection, should
do the same for their parents.
 Pakistan's blasphemy laws have been used to persecute non-Muslims.
Minority religious groups have long sought to have the law scrapped.
 Still, Menghwar refuses to give up hope of getting his daughters
back. Neither does he believe their conversion was voluntary. The
girls had said in court: ''We have left our home and religion by
ourselves and no one forced us into this...we used to listen to
Islamic programmes on television and decided to convert to Islam."
(END/2006)
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Women Fall Prey to Coerced Conversions
Zofeen Ebrahim
 KARACHI , Jan 17 (IPS) - When Pakistani cricketer Yousuf Youhana,
the only Christian in the national team, announced that he had
embraced Islam to become Mohammad Yousuf last September, the
conversion hit the headlines everywhere.
 Editorial writers and the public speculated about the reason for
days. Some ascribed it to peer pressure: the influence of ex-
cricketer Saeed Anwar who is a member of the non-political Tableeghi
Jamaat religious cult. Others said, more wryly, that the cricketer
might be just improving his chances of getting to lead the Pakistan
team.
But the conversion of three Hindu girls, a few weeks later, went
almost unnoticed in the media. There was little concern that the
girls, Reena (21), Aishwariya (19), and Reema (17), from a lower
middle-class family in Karachi's Punjab Colony, had run away from
home to become Muslims.
 Their father Sanao Menghwar and mother Champa, who searched for them
for two weeks, said they tried to lodge a complaint at the local
police station but were not allowed.
 The police finally registered a complaint on Oct. 22 on the
intervention of a deputy superintendent of police. Three Muslim
youths, identified as suspects by Menghwar, were apprehended, but
later released on bail when the girls testified that they had only
helped them convert.
 Soon after, the family received an envelope containing affidavits
signed by their daughters that stated they had converted to Islam of
their own accord and had changed their names to Anam, Afshan and Nida
respectively. Moreover, they said they didn't want to stay with their
parents; preferring to live in the madrassa (religious school) where
they were being instructed.
 The parents went to court, which ordered that the police arrange a
meeting between the parents and the girls. The meeting took place in
the presence of the police, the madrassa instructor and a local
woman. The girls were veiled in black, only their eyes showing. The
father says his youngest daughter's eyes were bloodshot from weeping.
 Thereafter, following a notification by the Supreme Court of
Pakistan, the girls were shifted to the Edhi Home for destitute
women, run by a prominent charitable organisation, where they are
allowed to meet their parents and go for their religious education.
 ''It just doesn't seem right, the whole episode reeks of human rights
violation," says Ayesha Mir, programme coordinator at the women's
rights organisation, Shirkatgah, that has been closely monitoring the
case. ''There are too many questions that remain unanswered," she
adds.
 ''Why did the women seek shelter in a madrassa? Why did they veil
themselves in front of their parents, no Muslim woman does that?" she
asks.
 Rights activists say the girls have been victimised threefold: they
are poor, belong to a minority community, and are women.
 In another case, three years ago, Sundri, a college student in
Larkana, went to college one day, never to return home. Two weeks
later, the police told her parents that she had eloped with a Muslim
man and converted to Islam. The marriage did not last. Neither did
two others. She died shortly after the third, in mysterious
circumstances.
 Anis Haroon, director of Aurat Foundation, a voluntary agency that
works for the empowerment of women, says that conversions like these
need to be discussed as a ''constitutional issue, not a women's
rights or religious issue."
 ''Minority women, in general, remain more vulnerable than men," says
Javed Jabbar, former information minister. He reckons their low
status in the discriminatory caste system, compounded by the
shrinking numbers of Hindus -- a mere 2.7 million of the country's
140 million people -- makes women more susceptible. ''The rights of
Hindu women require special protection and enforcement by the state,"
he says.
 Tasneem Ahmar, director of UKS, which monitors the portrayal of
women in the media, wonders why more women are converting. ''We have
to find answers soon before this sort of conversion becomes a
legitimised practice," she says.
 A report by a Pakistani journalist in Mid-Day, an Indian tabloid, on
Nov. 15 says: ''at least 19 such abduction cases have occurred in
Karachi alone", last year. A shaken Hindu community is ''marrying off
their daughters as soon as they are of marriageable age or migrate to
India, Canada or other nations," he writes.
 In the recent conversion, the lawyer representing the father of the
three girls, Raja Hussain, says the girls were forced to marry their
captors. He claimed they were kidnapped and harassed by the three
youths. As evidence, he said the girls refused to respond when asked
if they were going to marry the youths.
 Article 20 of Pakistan's Constitution protects the rights of
citizens to practice their religion. ''Then what is the basis or
rationale for someone to exercise force against anyone for exercising
his or her rights under these provisions?" wonders Justice Nasir
Aslam Zahid, a retired Supreme Court judge
 ''Apparently none," he adds. ''The constitution neither approves,
expressly or impliedly, nor permits any forcible conversion.
Violation of others' rights is not justifiable on any ground."
 He advises that every effort should be made to ascertain if the
decision to convert was made voluntarily. It is necessary for police
and judicial officers to be trained, and an atmosphere created where
they can discharge their duties ''without fear of retaliation", he
adds.
 Haroon puts the blame squarely on the state. ''It has been unable to
guarantee civil rights to its people, specifically its minorities,"
she says.
 Jabbar believes it is everyone's responsibility. ''All citizens have
an obligation to protect minorities and prevent coercive conversion.
The overwhelming majority of Pakistanis are very tolerant and
respectful of religious minorities," he says.
 When Shirkatgah visited Punjab Colony to investigate the conversion,
they reported that the neighbourhood was very tense. ''People were
visibly scared and those Hindus, who had earlier told us that they
would talk to us, refused to even recognise us when we went a second
time. The father who spoke to us for 45Â minutes, peered outside
three times to see if someone was eavesdropping."
 ''People are a little wary à they can be slapped with the blasphemy
law and put behind bars," explains Shirkatgah's Mir. She thinks the
apex court which provided the three women police protection, should
do the same for their parents.
 Pakistan's blasphemy laws have been used to persecute non-Muslims.
Minority religious groups have long sought to have the law scrapped.
 Still, Menghwar refuses to give up hope of getting his daughters
back. Neither does he believe their conversion was voluntary. The
girls had said in court: ''We have left our home and religion by
ourselves and no one forced us into this...we used to listen to
Islamic programmes on television and decided to convert to Islam."
(END/2006)
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->