Pakistani Family Shares Trauma After Facing Forced Conversion
Canadian Aid to Persecuted Christians
Photo credit to Huma & family
Huma Younus , 14, was abducted by a Muslim man, who forcefully married and had her converted to Islam.
According to her mother, Nagina Younas, Huma was abducted from her home in the southern city of Karachi by Abdul Jabbar and his two accomplices in October 2019. Nagina was working as a nanny caring for a baby in a nearby bungalow at that time.
In a video statement uploaded on social media, Huma denied being abducted, saying she went with Jabbar of her own free will. In a police complaint, Huma’s parents said their daughter was kidnapped and forced by Jabbar to marry him. The parents were later told by police that Huma had converted to Islam after being taken to Dera Ghazi Khan, a town in the Punjab Province.
Nagina told Canadian Aid to Persecuted Christians that Huma’s cell phone is powered off. Nagina tried to talk to her politely as per police directions, but she felt that Huma was not speaking of her own free will.
Huma kept questioning as to what she will do after returning home and who will marry her. “It has been a tough year for the family. We were threatened in video calls. Still, we trust God for her freedom from others.” Nagina stressed.
People in Nagina’s neighborhood trusted Jabbar because he offered rides to all families at any time. “Jabbar tricked my daughter is leaving our home while my husband picked me from the bungalow after my night duty,” said Nagina. “Despite a phone in the house, she didn’t even call us while leaving with Jabbar. Her pocket money was still in the school bag. Her clothes lay ironed in the cupboard. My younger daughter stopped going to school for several months.” According to Nagina, the courts ignored Huma’s school and Church certificates. The investigating officer supports Jabbar, who is still not arrested. Police officials have told Huma’s family to accept the marriage and stop proceeding with the case.
Pakistan’s Child Brides
Nagina was further traumatized last month when the Sindh High Court ordered another teenage Catholic child bride Arzoo Raja of Karachi to remain in a state-run shelter home until she reaches the age of 18.
Raja was allegedly abducted in October 2019, converted to Islam, and married off to her a 44-year-old Muslim neighbour. Her parents are now fighting a complex legal battle seeking her custody and a marriage annulment of what they consider was a forced child marriage and religious conversion.
Earlier this month, Police in the City of Faisalabad freed Farah Shaheen, a 12-year-old Christian girl who was abducted by Muslim men, forcibly converted to Islam, and had her married. Shaheen was released by the district court of Faisalabad but, was sent to a shelter house instead of returning to the family.
“The court order left me lifeless. Christian girls are suffering in shelter houses,” said Nagina.
Church officials often blame law enforcement agencies for facilitating such crimes. Christians are demonstrating across Pakistan against the abduction and forced conversion of minor girls.
According to a recently published Center for Social Justice (CSJ) study (2013-20), 162 questionable conversions were reported in the media between 2013 and November 2020. The highest number of cases (49) were reported in 2019.
According to CSJ research, the Bahawalpur district of Punjab province topped the list of forced conversions with 21 reported cases last year followed by Karachi and Lahore.
Around 52 percent of alleged forced conversions occurred in the Punjab province and 44 percent in Sindh. More than 54 per cent of victims (girls and women) belonged to the Hindu community and 44 per cent were Christians. More than 46 per cent of victims were minors, with nearly 33 per cent aged 11-15 years, and 17 per cent of victims were above 18 years.
Most of the minors are married against their will. Even those who fall in love with their Muslim spouses generally fail to win respect from the spouses’ family. Despite converting to Islam, they are often referred to as “churha” (low caste) — a derogatory term in Pakistan which is often hurled at Christians who do menial jobs like sweeping the streets.