a Christian minor raped and converted by force asks for justice

Sabba is 15 years old. She was kidnapped, raped and forced to marry. After a few days she managed to escape and, together with her family, she began an arduous battle in search of justice. Many times the perpetrators, Muslims, benefit from the climate of impunity. For activists, Saba is “an example of the attempt to resist injustice.”

Lahore () – A new case of forced conversion of an underage Christian girl raises the question of justice and rights in Pakistan. Especially minorities, who too often are victims of abuse in a climate of constant impunity. Violence and abuses are perpetrated in the name of religion [islámica], but in the vast majority of cases the police and judges do not intervene, either by deliberate choice or fear of being targeted for reprisals. Those who should intervene end up being complicit in the crimes.

The latest case is that of Saba Nadeem, 15, the daughter of Nadeem Masih, from a poor Christian family of eight living in Faisalabad, Punjab. The young woman was kidnapped by a Muslim neighbor, Yasir Hussain, on May 20. She was raped and forced to embrace the Islamic faith, and then forced to marry her captor. However, after a few days, she Saba managed to escape from her and was able to return to her family of origin, while her executioner was detained by the police.

On June 6, Saba appeared before the city magistrate to file a complaint under section 164 of the Penal Code, explaining that she had been taken “from Faisalabad to Gujrat” and “raped for several days”. On September 30, the judges signed the arrest warrant against Yasir Hussain, stating that the young woman was a minor and that the marriage was null because she had been “forced through the use of force and threats”. However, despite the complaints and claims, the girl is still waiting for justice.

The activist Lala Robin Daniel comments on the case in dialogue with and explains that Saba is an example of the attempt to resist injustice. A minor who fights to see the person who kidnapped and abused her prosecuted, regardless of the threats her family receives. In this case, it is worth highlighting the role of the police that collaborated in her release. Joseph Jansen, president of Voice of Justice, shifts the focus to the Council for Islamic Ideology (CII) and the Ministry of Religious Affairs, who “deny” the problem and are among those who “oppose the law against forced conversions “. “These two bodies,” he adds, “deliberately try to expand their influence and control the political direction of regulations that affect minorities. They resist the introduction of laws that protect the rights of minorities.”

Father Pascal Paloos recalls that it is common for the perpetrators of crimes to try to manipulate or cover up investigations and trials to go unpunished, also taking advantage of collusion or non-application of the rules. In addition, judges hand down sentences that in the vast majority of cases are favorable to the perpetrators, leaving unpunished cases of kidnapping, violence and forced marriages in which the victims are usually girls under 18 and members of religious minorities. They therefore reiterate activist Nadia Stephen’s call for further investigation into cases of abductions and forced conversions, especially if the victims are under the age of 14 and are sexually assaulted.