Daily Times

The recent episode of the two Sindhi Hindu girls in Pakistan, Raveena and Reena, who were allegedly abducted, converted to Islam, and married to Muslim youths has got a lot of publicity in recent days.

Pakistan TV channels have said that the girls were not abducted, but voluntarily converted, and married of their own free will, and they have shown the girls saying this.

However, they have missed a central point. Under the Majority Act, which is prevalent both in India and Pakistan, a person above the age of 18 years is called a major (baalig ), while one below 18 is called a minor (nabaalig). The law presumes that a minor is not mature enough to know what is good or bad for him/her. So he/she cannot do whatever he/she wants, or go wherever he/she likes. A minor must remain in the custody of his or her parents, and do what the parents tell him or her to do, because his or her mind is not developed enough to know what is good or bad for him or her.

The two Sindhi girls were reportedly aged 13 and 15. So they were minors, and should have immediately been sent back into the custody of their parents. If there was a controversy about their age, that could have easily been verified by checking their school records, and also by examination by a doctor. Their mere statement was not enough, for they could have been tutored to make a false statement ( in my experience of 20 years as a lawyer and 20 years as a judge, I found that a girl usually gives a statement in favour of the person(s) from whose custody she was brought to court).

The two Sindhi girls were reportedly aged 13 and 15. So they were minors, and should have immediately been sent back into the custody of their parents

Unfortunately, the matter was disposed of because of the mere statements of children that they converted to Islam and married of their own free will, without a proper inquiry of their age. If they were minors, their wish was irrelevant.

In my 20 year long career as a Judge I had dozens of cases like this before me. In these cases the girl had eloped with a person of another religion and married him after conversion.

In these cases, the girl’s father would file a habeas corpus petition before me alleging that his daughter had been forcibly abducted, and praying that she be restored to him. In all these cases all I inquired into was the girl’s age. Once I was satisfied ( after checking the school records, doctor’s examination, etc ) that she was above 18 I told her she was free to go with whom she wants and ordered police escort. But if she was below 18 I handed her over to the custody of her parents. Her wish became irrelevant in such cases ( see my Supreme Court judgment in Lata Singh vs State of UP online).

There is another matter I would like to mention here.

In Pakistan there have been several cases of Hindu girls converting to Islam and marrying Muslim youth (whether voluntarily or forcibly), but I have not heard of a single Muslim girl converting to Hinduism and marrying a Hindu boy. Although apostasy (irtidad) is not a legal offence in Pakistan, but in practice for a Muslim to convert to another religion will soon thereafter result in being murder by religious extremists. So if a Muslim girl becomes a Hindu ( or Christian or Sikh ) and marries a boy of another faith, both will soon be killed as murtids (apostates). I have not heard of a single Muslim girl (or man) who converted and is still alive.

So it seems Pakistan the traffic only flows one way.

The writer is a former Judge, Supreme Court of India