Every year 1000 young women are forcibly converted in Pakistan: report

New Delhi, 31 December 2020 Thursday

More than 1,000 young women are reported to have been forcibly converted to Islam in Pakistan each year, according to a detailed report by the American news agency AP. Is.

Neha was a Christian from Pakistan before her conversion. But last year he was forcibly converted to Islam. The Muslim man Neha is married to is 45 years old. The husband is currently in jail on charges of marrying and raping a minor. But Neha is still very scared as security personnel seized a pistol from her husband's brother in court. Neha said he had brought a gun to kill her.

Incidents of forcible conversion of minority girls are frequent in Pakistan. Human rights activists say such incidents escalated during the lockdown. Traffickers are now more active on the Internet. The lockdown has plunged many families into debt and forced them to convert and accept girls' marriages.

The U.S. State Department this month expressed concern about Pakistan's position on the issue of religious freedom violations, which was rejected by the Pakistani government, placing Pakistan in a worrying category when it comes to religious freedom.

Its mainstay was a report by the American Religious Freedom Commission, which said that underage girls from the Hindu, Christian and Sikh minorities were being abducted and forcibly converted to Islam in Pakistan. They are being forcibly married and raped.