No amount of whistle blowing by International or Indian media seems to have had an impact on the forced conversions in Pakistan. While the dust over kidnapping, abduction and forced conversion of 12-year-old Christian girl Farah is yet to settle down, the incident of abduction of four Hindu girls from the Sindh province comes to light. Yet again. So frequent and repetitive are the incidents of minor girls being kidnapped and forcibly converted that it becomes difficult to segregate the month or even the year.
The case of 13-year-old Kavita Odh
While the 13-year-old Hindu girl Kavita Odh, who was reported missing earlier in the week, was found at a dargah; 13-year-old Poja Meghora who worked at a textile mill was recently kidnapped and is still missing. As for Kavita, who was reportedly kidnapped in Kandhkot district, her parents had filed a case at Tangwani Police Station in the district. The police later found Kavita at the Bharchundi Sharif Dargah and the civil judge hearing the case has sent Kavita to a shelter home and asked police to submit a report. In her statement given to the police, Kavita had earlier said that she embraced Islam out of her own free will.
It must be noted that earlier in the week, an NGO Voice of Pakistan Minority, which is dedicated to the cause of protecting the rights of minorities, had shared a video wherein some unidentified goons had torched Kavita's house in Sindh. Three days before that, the video of conversion ceremony of Kavita had gone viral. Kavita had reportedly been abducted and married off to her abductor by a notorious Islamic cleric Mian Mithoo.
On the night of 14th March, Kavita’s, (a 13 yr old minor #Hindu girl who was kidnapped and forcibly converted) house has been torched by unknown goons. Despite of the promises by the officials, Kavita’s family hasn’t been provided any security. Why?#StopConvertingMinorities pic.twitter.com/vn0L5UhtbL
— Voice of Pakistan Minority (@voice_minority) March 16, 2021
India continues to voice its concern
Dwindling minority communities and forced conversion are neither new nor shocking news anymore. Let alone protecting religious minorities, India has raised strong objections against the capability of Pakistan protecting the religious sites belonging to minority groups.
At the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly recently, India joined the consensus for adoption of the draft resolution that aims at, "promoting a culture of peace and tolerance to safeguard religious sites." At the same time, India raised concerns over Pakistan being a part of it too since the instances of attacks on Hindu temples are aplenty on its soil.
What can be done?
From calling on the human rights groups, international organisations to governments of western countries, suggestions poured in as did the speculations. Who are these people who convert minor girls forcibly? Are they state sponsored? Local clerics or terrorists sponsored by political goons?
