Pakistan: Nearly 1,000 Christian, Hindu women fall victim to forced conversion every year, say rights activists

Nov 18, 2021

Islamabad [Pakistan], November 18 : Atrocities against minority women has now become common in Pakistan and according to recent data around 1,000 women belonging to Christian and Hindu communities are forced to convert to Islam every year.
Ashiknaz Khokhar, a human rights activist noted that kidnapping of minor girls from religious minorities is commonplace in Pakistan, reported Greek City Times.
"The (Pakistan) government is not taking this issue seriously and parliament recently refused to pass the bill on forced conversion," Khokhar said.
"Every year about 1,000 Christian and Hindu girls are forced to convert to Islam. There is a dire need for a dedicated law to protect minority girls."
Citing another incident from Pakistan's Punjab province, the publication reported that one more Christian girl was abducted by a Muslim in Pakistan's Punjab province.
12-year-old Meerab Abbas was taken by Muhammad Daud and a native of the Pakistani province of Balochistan, Greek City Times reported citing a Asia News report.
The plight of women in Pakistan is increasing day by day as a fresh report has stated that nearly 6,754 women were abducted in the country's Punjab province in the first half of 2021.
Out of that, 1890 women were raped, 3721 were tortured whereas 752 children were raped, Duniya News reported.
On August 30, the Board of Trustees of Transparency International Pakistan (TIP) expressed concerns over increasing attacks on women in the country.
In Islamabad, there were nearly 34 official incidents of rape while 27 incidents were reported in the media. The number of official incidents of violence recorded in Punjab was 3,721, but only 938 cases were reported in the media, Dunya News said.