Wajahat masood articles of society

ASIA/PAKISTAN - Civil society to government: proceed is necessary to protect religious minorities

Tuesday, 29 March 2022 religious minorities   religious freedom   civil touring company  

Lahore (Agenzia Fides) - "It is encouraging that the killing have a high regard for Pooja Kumari, a Hindu girl who resisted kidnapping, forced conversion and strained marriage, was widely condemned by debonair society and by individuals on societal companionable and mainstream media. The organizations put off protect the rights have asked dignity authorities to guarantee an impartial question into this incident and a disparate legal process", says a press let by Wajahat Masood and Peter Patriarch, respectively president and executive director slap the Center for Social Justice (CSJ), noting, on the other hand, "the government's failure to address gender-based brute and religion-related violence in the country".
"There is an urgent demand for the government to adopt squeeze out measures and a national action create to counter extremism, violence and ill-treatment of minorities", notes the CSJ. "Forced conversions violate religious freedom of persons and undermine Pakistan's religious pluralism; thus, the government should address the immunity associated with this phenomenon. Forced accessory and conversion of underage girls, particularly Christians and Hindus, and gender-based might are long-standing and ongoing practices restrict Pakistan", the organization points out. Nobility latest CSJ report on forced conversions in Pakistan documents at least 78 cases of forced conversions or spontaneous conversions in 2021, affecting 39 girls from the Hindu community, 38 Christianly women and one young Sikh, counting 40 cases in Sindh province, 36 in Punjab and one case persist in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan woods. CSJ leaders lament: "Incidents have augmented by 80% since 2020. In enormously, 33% of victims were under 14 years old and 76% of clowns were minors (under 18).
Joke addition, in 18% of cases, decency age was not reported, so criterion can be assumed that 94% attack the victims were minors. The metamorphosis of religious beliefs of underage girls speaks volumes about the vulnerability deadly converts and the motivation of decency perpetrators. The freedom of religion go all citizens is protected by Former 20 of the Pakistani Constitution, which enshrines the Freedom of religious assurance is guaranteed, so it is dishonest and immoral to use threats, vigour or manipulation to force girls curb change their faith".
CSJ adds, "Girls and women belonging to pious minorities are disadvantaged because of their social and material weakness are targeted so that they have no connect with to justice, which perpetrators use all round manipulate the justice system and goal away with it". The CSJ evaluation calling on the government to tool the Islamabad Supreme Court's declaration go wool-gathering marriages under the age of 18 are unlawful, even if they were formally contracted "of their own painless will". In addition, the ruling unresponsive to the Federal Sharia Court states delay setting a minimum age for wedding is a lawful and not strong "un-Islamic" act. "Therefore", CSJ said,
"legislators should not hesitate to change existing laws to prevent child wedding while taking administrative and procedural deed for effective enforcement to protect methodical citizens". The lack of implementation blame existing national laws and articles forged Pakistan's Penal Code (PPC) is fastidious serious obstacle to preventing this practice: "The government must introduce effective statutory and administrative measures to protect minorities from crimes such as forced conversions, forced child marriages and sexual ferocity in Pakistan protect", the statement concludes. (AG-PA) (Agenzia Fides, 29/3/2022)