In Pakistan's Sindh province, the trend of abducting Hindu Sindhi girls and marrying them after forced conversion has increased alarmingly.

Recently, Suman Kumari lohana and Neelu Kohli were forcibly converted in to Islam, and married. in which Neelu Kohli is only 12 years old. There is no effective law against forced religious conversion in Pakistan, however, there is a ban on child marriage in Sindh, yet no effective action is taken to enforce this law.

It has been observed that most of the Hindu girls are  between the ages of 13 and 16, although in 2014 the Sindh Assembly has impose severe penalties and fines on the marriage of underage girls.

In the draft passed by the Sindh Assembly, it is said that

The Act defines a “child” as “a person male or female who is under eighteen years of age.
The Sindh Child Marriage Restraint Act prohibits child marriages under section 3, which states:

Whoever, being a male above eighteen years of age, contracts a child marriage shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment which may extend to three years but shall not be less than two years and shall be liable to fine. (Sindh Child Marriages Restraint Act, 2013, § 3, Law Department.

Despite the existence of this law, no one has been punished till date, for forced conversions that are done just for the sake of marriage, which has nothing to do with religion.

A law banning forced conversion should be made and implemented in Pakistan, as it has been observed that only girls are affected. The state should provide protection to Hindu Sindhi and Christian girls.

Comrade Salal
Chairman Jedojhid Khalque forum.