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Ensure human rights protection of a minority rape victim in Pakistan
  1. Signatures
    421 out of 1,000
    Petitioning
    1. Pakistani Ambassador to the U.S (Ambassador Hussain Haqqani)
  2. Created By
    Pakistan Hindu Post
    CA
About this Petition Petition Letter
Why This Is Important

               Approximately 25-30 minority women are kidnapped, raped, and forcibly converted in Pakistan every month. You have the power to change that. With your signature, we can change conditions for the poor, the disenfranchised, the minorities, and indentured laborers in Pakistan. Without basic human rights, without legal protection, and an invisible entity to the government of Pakistan, these minority women suffer inhuman abuses including rape, abduction, conversion, and intimidation. Your signature shows that we will take notice and we can change that. Help us get 1000 signatures for Ms. Kasthuri Khali, and for all the other nameless women in Pakistan so we can ensure a better tomorrow.

HUMAN RIGHTS ALERT: PAKISTAN: A 17 year old Hindu teenager is told to marry her alleged rapist,police and courts fail to act

Issues: Hindu child is raped by local politician and his companions, girl is being pressured to marry her rapist and convert to Islam

Dear Friends,
    Pakistan Hindu Post is reported an attack upon a minority Hindu girl by her Muslim perpetrators who belong to a local political party. It is not uncommon for poor minority and Muslim girls to be raped by local older, powerful men.

Case details:  The incident occurred on January 24th, 2010 in Mokrio Village, Nagar Parker, Thar Parker district, Sindh province, Pakistan.  This case involves the rape and other human rights violations of Miss Kastoori, daughter of Nawo Kalhi, Mokrio village, Nagar Parker town, Thar Parker district, Sindh province in Pakistan. She was robbed of her fundamental human rights, and encouraged by local forces to marry her rapist and convert her faith from Hinduism to Islam.

    Multiple perpetrators were present including Mr. Ramzan Khoso, Mr. Habib Ullah Khoso, Mr. Ghulam Nabi Khoso, all sons of Mr. Muhammed Bachaal Khoso and residents of Mokrio Village, Nagar Parker Town, Thar Parker district, Sindh province, Pakistan, all sons of a local politician, Mr. Mohammed Bachaal Khoso and Mr. Verio Gur-Ro, also a resident of the same village.  Ms. Kastoori was turned away from the local police station when they attempted to register a complaint. After the incident, Ms.Kohli's father issued a complaint of the kidnapping and rape, known as a First Investigative Report or FIR, in Pakistan, to authorities.  Rape falls under Section 365-B in Pakistan's penal code, and is a non-bailable offense.  In spite of this, all of the accused rapists were released from detention, and none have been charged in the rape.

    She was unable to undergo proper medical evaluation due to lack of police documentation which would have demonstrated the culpability of the perpetrators. There was also also an out of court settlement offered by the perpetrators to the family (which was declined) which was also known to the police. There is also suggestions of collusion of the local police with the perptrators' family. This out of court settlement included unsuccessful offers of money, marriage of the girl to Mr. Ramzan Khoso, and conversion to Islam. The police officers are Mr. Hameed Chand, Assistant Sub Inspector, and Inspector Mohammed Khan Rind, Station Head officer, both from the Nagar Parker Police station, district Thar Parker, Sindh Province, Pakistan.

          With the assistance of NGO's, namely the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) and Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), the father was able to lodge a case with the Sindh High Court, however was later arrested in an unrelated fabricated case which was politically motivated. The case is up for hearing in the Sindh, Pakistan high court at the end of this month. The family has gone into hiding out of fear. The family is also receiving assistance from Minister Sharmila Farooqi from the Sindh government. 
       
        On March 8, a local Dalit group reported that another Hindu teenager, aged 15 years, was kidnapped and 'forcibly married to a Muslim influential.'
             

 

Recent Signatures

Minority woman brutally raped in Pakistan

Dear Ambassador Haqqani,

It has come to my attention the brutal rape, and co-erced attempts at predatory conversion to Islam of poor young minority women in Pakistan. One of these is the case Ms. Kasthuri Kolhi, whose family is in hiding and whose perpetrators are are free in violation of Pakistan's penal code.
There has been an increasing incidence of poor Hindu women being abducted, raped, and converted to Islam against their will. Considering this is not an isolated event I am deeply disturbed regarding the recurring and brutal rapes against minority women that prevail in Pakistan. It should be noted that many of these cases go unreported due to stigma, corruption and poor access to justice, leaving the victims without any help or protection while the perpetrators benefits from impunity. Victims and their families are also threatened not to report the incidents to the police. Therefore, I urge upon the local authorities:

1. to ensure the exemplary punishment of the perpetrators responsible for this brutal rape.
2. to ensure that the victim receives the necessary legal assistance required throughout the process.
3. to provide adequate financial compensation to the victim’s family as well as guarantee the physical and psychological integrity with full rehabilitation.




I understand that this is one of numerous cases coming from border
areas with large Hindu Dalit populations, involving the rape of a Dalit girl and the attempt to forcibly convert her to Islam by marriage. This issue clearly needs addressing at the highest levels. Many Dalits in these areas are engaged in bonded labour, and women of the caste need strong institutional support and protection from abuse. Intervention is therefore urgently needed to ensure the arrest of the perpetrators, and of any police officers proven to have obstructed the course of justice. It is absolutely necessary that the authorities send a message of zero tolerance for impunity, particularly regarding violations against women and minorities.

[Your name]