Recently, a video of a Hindu woman lamenting and crying helplessly, surfaced on social media that highlights the plight of Hindu minorities in the Islamic State of Pakistan. In the video, the harsh reality of forced religious conversion at the hands of a Pakistani Muslim and subsequent coerced marriage to a man old enough to be her father has come to light.
Approximately two months ago, the Hindu woman named Rajeeta Kolhi (some reports note her name as Reeta Meghwar and Reeta Kohli) fell victim to Islamist abductors. The main accused is named Ashiq Ahmadani.
According to Reeta’s account, she was coerced into converting to Islam and forced into a marriage with a Muslim, with the abductors issuing grave threats against her family should she resist.
Just a few days back, she successfully managed to escape from her captors in Badin, Sindh, and sought refuge at a local police station.
After her appearance in court, she earnestly implored the judges to allow her to be with her parents. To her surprise, the court ruled that she should be placed in the custody of Dar-al Aman, a shelter for women that is typically considered a last resort in sensitive custody cases. However, despite her strong desire to reunite with her parents, the court, following its established procedure, decided to place her in a shelter home. Poor Reeta wept, repeatedly beseeching to be reunited with her parents, even collapsing in distress on the courtyard floor of the court premises.
Tears of Hindu girls seem to hold less importance in Pakistan. Reeta insisted on going with her parents but the court sent her to a safe house.
— Veengas (@VeengasJ) October 17, 2023
She protested and cried for not going to safe house. However, the same courts in Pakistan make different decisions when Muslim girls… https://t.co/Cjn4dNGtSW pic.twitter.com/UhqSyXzzZR
Reeta Kohli expressed her desire to go with her parents, but the court, despite her statement, decided to send her to safe house.
— The Rise News (@Therisenews_) October 17, 2023
She was in tears and protested in court, adamantly stating that she didn't want to go to safe house but rather wanted to live with her parents. 1/2 https://t.co/lRsMHT3RwJ pic.twitter.com/kXsbnISYMg
Minority Rights March, an activist group in Pakistan has condemned the court’s ruling saying that Courts under no circumstance may confine a sui juris adult to a shelter home against his/her wish.
“To confine Rajeeta Kolhi to a shelter home without her consent and against her desire to be set at liberty, is tantamount to illegal confinement whereby her fundamental rights ensured under the Constitution are being curtailed with each passing second. We demand that Rajeeta Kolhi be immediately set at liberty and her abductor(s) be brought to task, and call upon the Learned MIT of the Hon’ble Sindh High Court to take notice of the prima facie unconstitutional (Continued) and illegal order of her confinement and take necessary action against the concerned Judge.”, it said in its statement.
OFFICIAL STATEMENT MRM (18th October 2023)
— Minority Rights March (@aqliyatihuqooq) October 18, 2023
We are disconcerted by the decision of the concerned Court in the case of 25 year old Rajeeta Kolhi, who is reportedly a victim of the crimes of abduction, forced marriage, illegal confinement and rape.
Thread 🧵 pic.twitter.com/pt3il0a3Vt
The condition of Hindu girls and other non-Muslims in the Islamic State of Pakistan is a story of enduring an unimaginable ordeal, marked by persecution, abduction and forced religious conversion, sexual assault, and other unspeakable violations of human rights and dignity. The fact that Hindus in Pakistan lack fundamental rights is a widely known but often unspoken truth, especially by those who consider themselves part of the liberal community.
However, the suffering and anguish experienced by Hindu girls and women in Pakistan are beyond comprehension. It’s an unfortunate reality that being born in such a country as a minority further exacerbates the magnitude of the problem, and this burden is even heavier for females. What compounds the situation is the additional vulnerability faced by those belonging to the Hindu or Christian communities.
The story of Reeta Kohli is only one among the thousands that have gone unreported as Hindus and Christians endure indescribable horrors that are nothing short of spine-chilling. Consequently, it is imperative to acknowledge and understand the immense suffering of the Hindus in Pakistan. Hindu women in Pakistan are subjected to a series of distressing experiences, including abductions, forced conversions to Islam, sexual assaults, and even being coerced into marriages with their abductors.
In a separate incident, an 11-year-old Hindu girl from Tando Allahyar, situated in the Umerkot district of Pakistan, was forcibly abducted by an Islamist man who is more than twice her age. The young Hindu girl, known as Jiji Bheel and hailing from the village of Tando Allahyar in the Sindh province (an area notorious for the abduction, rape, and forced conversion of minority Hindu girls), was taken against her will by a 28-year-old individual named Azim Ghumrani.
This distressing situation serves as a stark reminder and illustration that Pakistan is like a living hell for non-Muslims and highlights the importance of the Citizenship Amendment Act 2019.
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