Daily Times

Diversity of faiths gave birth to a land. The land bloomed with 25 percent of minorities and 75 percent of the majority population. The land was much like a field planted with seeds of white and green roses. Green in majority and white in minority. All together,the seeds buried in soil bloomed, though at the time of harvest we witnessed that the green roses grew thorns. Thorns that were piercing the white roses and poisoning them. Within years, 25 percent reduced to 3.6 percent. On watching closely, we saw our seeds in minority surrendering in order to avoid poisoning and pricking thorns. Seeds that grew and bore white roses slashed their white roses. White roses withered begging for mercy, and gradually became the part of soil. The white rose plant soon blossomed under duress; green roses sprouted, and the white rose plant felt safe.

The report of green roses forcing the white roses to slash their own roses to produce green roses never made its way to the ears of the authorities. No one dares to raise voice against this brutality; perhaps the green roses were too precious. Perhaps the green roses were too delicate, or maybe everyone felt endangered by thorns that sprouted with the green roses. Young green roses never even dared to defy the other green roses. They made sure that everyone knew that defying a rose must be punished by death. The weaker segment of the field, the white roses, were left exposed to all the pests and all the plagues that descended upon the field. Nobody dared to notice how much the white roses were being suppressed.

There are many reported as well as non-reported forced conversion cases but there is no efficient media coverage

Finally, the judicial system dared to be the voice of the white roses, and made an amendment in law to punish the green ones who forcefully mutate the white ones into green. However,this was never implemented; the law and the government failed the white roses again.

In 2013, the government in one of the areas of the field made a mandate that let’s set an age limit on white roses converting to green ones. The mandate addressed the thorns of the green ones that kept piercing the white ones. But the promising green delegates roared with angst that how dareyou tag a limit upon colour alteration. Threats to siege the assembly were streamed in air. As a result, the mandate was effectively blocked.

The field had a law against forced colour alteration, but that law was altered as per needed in every situation. The holy places in the field offered certificates of conversion even though the law prohibited such things. Some of these holy organisations allure the followers into committing the crime by manipulating them by blinding them with the liabilities of the green colour. The white roses,on facing all that, presented a mandate to own the authority to deal with the conversion cases on their own, but little legislative movement was observed in the case.

Colour alteration is a forced act; the white rose is pushed to a limit where it has no choice but to give in. After colour alteration, it is forced to slit the roots and pretend the roots never existed. One thing that we forget is that a plant without roots is dead. Gradually it withers, leaves are shed one by one, and petals are peeled away. Soon,nothing is left. Only the corpse is left, whether it’s a breathing one or a static one.

This is the tale of alleged conversions and related crimes against minority women in the last five years. The white roses in the field are the minorities in Pakistan. According to the 1941 census, the non-Muslim population was 25 percent, and in 1998 census, this number reduced to 3.6 percent. Forced conversions are one of the main reasons for the reduced minority population. Forced conversions are seen to be driven by different motives such as marriage, divorce, security, and sometimes the need to avoid persecution.

Forced conversion is a crime and one should address it as a crime

There are many reported as well as non-reported forced conversion cases but there is no efficient media coverage. These cases barely make their way to the ears of the public. The 1973 constitution includes freedom to profess, practise and propagate any religion (article 20). Still, we allow the abuse and violation of rights of religious minorities. In the Sindh assembly, a bill was passed to place an age limit upon conversion of religion. But the Jaamat-e-Islami and other parties came up with the statement that there is no age limit for a forced conversion. The parties threatened to siege the assembly, and as a result, nothing happened. The government fails to even give minorities the authority to deal with the cases of forced conversions on their own.

According to a report, there are 118 reported cases of forced conversion.Out of those 118,only 20 are cases of adult women. There are cases of teenagers and girls who aren’t even in their teens. There are 16 cases where girls and women were returned to their families after filing a petition in court. These little white roses are torn away from families, and they’d do anything to return to their families. There is a valid report presented by the Centre for Social Justice; the reliable data in this report is narrated and researched by Peter Jacob.

Forced conversion is a crime and one should address it as a crime. People are so blindly making their way to paradise they are making a hell on earth for minorities.