“Is there anyone who becomes our voice? Is there anyone who considers minorities to be truly and utterly Pakistani? Is there anyone who can give us justice?” This cry is from a grieving mother of Karachi whose 14-year-old daughter was abducted, converted to Islam and forced to marry her kidnaper. Nageena Khatoon is from a minority community and is now begging for the recovery of her daughter. Eighth grade student Huma, 14, was abducted on October 10 by a man named Abdul Jabbar, after which Huma’s mother, Nageena Khatoon, filed an FIR at the local police station in Karachi.
Nageena says police did not listen to them after the kidnapping. “Ten days later [after the kidnapping], I received a video message from my daughter in which she says that I have accepted Islam and got married. I do not understand what is the law that allows a girl under 14 to get married? What is the law that allows a minority and underage child to change their religion? We are very upset and scared. We are getting threats on the phone. The kidnapper’s brother is in a law enforcement agency in Balochistan and he is threatening to kill us. The police are not doing anything. There is no hearing. If the law is not doing anything then what should we do? I’m not being told where my daughter is. Is she alive or killed? No one is doing anything or not listening,” she says.
According to Nageena, the name of the alleged kidnapper is Abdul Jabbar and he is from Dera Ghazi Khan but now living in Karachi.
On the other side, the daughter of Nageena Khatoon said in one of her video messages that “she has willingly accepted Islam and her new name in Mehak now.”
Nageena says that her daughter is so young that she does not even know her religion properly, and wondered how she can adopt someone’s religion.
According to human rights activist and special assistant to Sindh chief minister, Veerji Kolhi, the girl’s mother came to him. “Police are not playing any role in this regard. Sindh has a law under which marriage of a girl under 18 is a crime.” While this is also a case of forced conversion, he said that the investigative officer is helping the other party and trying to defuse the case.
Investigative officer of the case, Akhtar says police is doing its duty responsibly and in this case they had also visited Multan. He also claimed to have arrested a marriage witness.
Religious scholar Shujuddin Sheikh was also asked about the case, who commented, “As far as it is concerned that one may tempt someone, kidnap someone, carry someone with deception, it is not allowed in any system or in any religion.” “You cannot make someone a Muslim under coercion or pressure. This is not allowed in Islam,” he said.
Minority Minister Hari Ram was unaware of the incident. When the incident was brought to his knowledge, he said he would take immediate action on it. He said that it was a crime to forcibly convert minorities and force them to get married. He said he would talk to the police and the chief minister in this regard.
The Aurat Foundation and the Movement for Solidary and Peace (MSP) estimate that 1,000 women and girls a year are abducted, forcibly converted and then married off to their abductors. The HRCP has shown that police often turn a blind eye to reports of abduction and forced conversions; thereby creating impunity for perpetrators. The police generally support the goal of converting members of the religious minorities. In limited instances of police intervention, local leaders exert considerable pressure to prevent any action.
Nageena Khatoon waits for justice, but she is forced to raise some questions.
“Why is the story always the same – a girl runs away with a Muslim man, converts to Islam and refuses to have anything more to do with her family, who have little choice but to stay quiet?”