Bill on Forced Conversions of Non-Muslim Girls Rejected
GHRTV Reporter
5-1-2022
Emma Barnhoorn
Pakistan and Human Rights Researcher,
Global Human Rights Defence.
The Christian community in Pakistan criticize the rejection of a Bill that expressly prohibits the forced conversions of religious minorities.
On October 13th, the Parliamentary Commission on Forced Conversions rejected a bill that was prepared by the Ministry of Human Rights. The Bill was defined as “non-Islamic” and will therefore not be submitted to Parliament. The Bill could have provided for the criminal offense for the forced religious conversion of underage non-Muslim Pakistani girls, an issue which is of great concern in Pakistan. Catholic Michelle Chaudry, President of the “Cecil & Iris Chaudhry Foundation”, urges the Pakistani government to take urgent and necessary measures. The Parliament’s rejection of this Bill clearly shows the government’s political will not to take care of the safety and protection of non-Muslims living in Pakistan. According to Chaudhry, the State must realize that forced conversions are a serious violation of human rights at all levels, and it must uphold its international obligations and the guarantees enshrined in the Constitution of Pakistan [1].
The issue of forced conversions is destroying the lives of hundreds of innocent, mostly Christian and Hindu girls, all over Pakistan. It is essential to have a law which sets a minimum age for conversions and which criminalizes the acts of kidnapping and coercion. The Catholic Bishops of Pakistan, on the UN International Day of the Girl, launched a public appeal to the government which asked it to do everything it possibly could to end the forced marriages, kidnappings, and religious conversions of underage girls (Fides, 2021).
Notes
[1]: For the full text of the Constitution of Pakistan, please follow this link: http://www.pakistani.org/pakistan/constitution/.
Sources and further readings
Fides, A. (14/10/2021) “ASIA/PAKISTAN - The bill on forced conversions of non-Muslim girls rejected” http://www.fides.org/en/news/70961-ASIA_PAKISTAN_The_bill_on_forced_conversions_of_non_Muslim_girls_rejected.
