Rinkle Kumari's case was one of the
many incidents of conversion in
Pakistan, but relentless struggle by
the Hindu community has brought it
into the limelight, says Tahir Ali
The Hindu community in Pakistan will
be keenly watching the Supreme
Court trial that starts on Monday to
decide the fate of Rinkle Kumari -- a
19-year-old girl who was allegedly
kidnapped, forcibly converted to Islam
and then forced to marry a Muslim
boy.
Though the forcible conversion of
Hindu girls to Islam is nothing new in
Pakistan, Rinkle's case has received
much national and international
publicity.
The Hindu community is optimistic of
a positive outcome to the trial.
Rinkle was allegedly abducted in
Mirpur Mathelo, a small town in
interior Sindh on February 24. She
had recently completed her
intermediate studies and was
planning to visit Karachi to shop for
her brother's wedding.
Initially, Rinkle was reported missing
but she soon emerged with her
husband Naveed Shah, and
supported by a large number of
armed Pakistan Peoples Party activists.
Rinkle, who changed her name to
Faryal Shah, announced to the media
that she had embraced Islam and
married Naveed Shah of her own free
will.
"I got married and converted to Islam
of my free will," Rinkle revealed to a
court in Sindh.
But neither her family nor the rest of
the Hindu community believed the
revelation of the girl, as such forcible
conversions have become a common
practice in interior Sindh. In the last
four months, 47 cases of abductions
of Hindu girls have been reported in
Sindh.
Members of the Hindu community
alleged that the policemen
investigating the case and the judges
of the court were under pressure
from PPP lawmakers. They claimed
that the civil judge, instead of allowing
the girl to go with her parents, sent
her to Daral-Aman where she was
mentally pressurised to give a
statement in favour of her husband.
She was not allowed to meet her
parents.
Nand Lal, Rinkle's father, is a primary
school teacher. According to him, his
daughter had no relations with
Naveed Shah and could not possibly
have eloped with him.
"She did not even know the person.
We have no internet or telephone
connection at home, so there is no
way she could have been in touch
with Naveed," said Nand Lal.
He added, "If she had planned to
elope, she would have taken her
slippers and her sweater along with
her. But she was kidnapped barefoot
and without any warm clothes,
despite the cold weather."
Veerji Kohli, a human rights activist,
told rediff.com , "Forcible conversion is
the easiest way to marry a Hindu girl;
this practice is explicitly related to
Islamic fundamentalists but it is a tool
used by Muslims in this particular
region to marry a young Hindu girl
without any problem. For a pretty
Hindu girl, her beauty becomes her
enemy. She is likely to be kidnapped,
followed by forcible conversion and
marriage to a Muslim man."
Kohli blames PPP member of
parliament Mian Abdul Haq alias Mian
Mitho and his family members for the
abduction and conversion of Rinkle.
"PPP activists are openly supporting
Naveed Shah. Even the son of Mian
Mitho was present in court when the
couple was brought there. Naveed
Shah's family is very close to Mina
Mitho," said Veerji.
Pir Ayub Jan Sarhandi from Umarkoot,
a leading cleric, has always been
blamed for his role in the forcible
conversion of Hindu girls. Members of
the Hindu community allege that the
Pir often provided shelter to people
who took away their girls and then
organised their marriages. Pir
Sarhandi also proudly claimed that he
has converted nearly 10,000 Hindu
women. But his name has not been
mentioned in connection with this
particular incident.
Members of the Hindu community
allege that Mian Mitho's family
members were openly supporting the
abductor and his men were involved
in the kidnapping of Rinkle.
The conversion of Hindu women has
exposed the community to the most
extreme level of social humiliation and
cultural stigma. Hundreds of Hindu
women have been converted to Islam
in Sindh. Though in some cases Hindu
women have converted of their own
will, the rate of forcible conversion
remains high.
According to minister of state for
national harmony Akram Masih Gill,
'sexual lust' is the key reason that
makes Muslim men force non-Muslim
girls to convert.
"Hindu girls are being sexually abused
by young Muslim men, who force
them to convert when their sexual
offence became an issue in society.
Those young people accept such girls
as their legal wives with the pre-
condition that they embrace Islam.
The girls are kidnapped by young men
and after meeting their sexual desires,
they are forced to change their
religion and convert to Islam," said
Gill.
Initially, Rinkle was one of the many
cases of conversion in the region and
the government had taken the
incident lightly, as an influential leader
of the ruling PPP was behind it.
But members of the Hindu
community continued with their
struggle and succeeded in forcing the
authorities to lodge a case by staging
protests, with shopkeepers striking
and demonstrators blocking a
highway.
The case garnered support from the
international community when United
States Congressman Brad Sherman
wrote a letter to President Asif Ali
Zardari [ Images ], asking him to take
all necessary steps to bring an end to
the harassment of minorities in
Pakistan.
Gradually, Rinkle's case received
support from some members of
parliament and attracted extensive
media coverage.
Dr Azra Fazl, a member of the Pakistan
National Assembly and sister of
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari,
stated in Parliament, "Hindu girls were
kidnapped and held against their will
in Sindh madrasas".
Dr Fazl warned that the court needed
to assess the mistreatment of minority
communities in Pakistan and protect
their rights.
Akram Masih Gill has called for strong
legislation against forced conversions,
stating that it is required to protect
minorities. According to Gill, such a
practice is against the injunctions of
Islam, as the Shariah prohibits forced
conversions.
Nafeesa Shah, another member of the
National Assembly from Sindh, has
endorsed the idea and said that
parliament should introduce
legislation on forced conversions.
"Protection of minorities should be
ensured as enshrined in the
Constitution," Shah added.
But according to Mian Mitho, if the
PPP was seen as being responsible for
introducing the legislation, it would
greatly damage the party's chances in
the next general election.
He claimed, "Pakistan is an Islamic
Republic. Since Faryal Shah (Rinkle)
had said she had converted of her
own free will, a ban on conversion is
redundant."
According to the National Commission
for Inter-Religious Dialogue and
Ecumenism, Pakistan is home to
nearly 39 lakh Hindus. Most members
of the minority community belong to
impoverished agricultural families.
Some human right activists claim that
nearly 10 Hindu families leave Pakistan
each month due to the insecurities
attached to belonging to the minority
community.
With the case of Rinkle making its way
to the powerful Supreme Court, the
Hindu community is hopeful about
finally getting justice on the issue of
forced conversions.
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