March 29, 2012 : “In Pakistan there is justice only for Muslims, justice is denied Hindus. Kill me here, now, in court. But do not send me back to the Darul-Aman [Koranic school] … kill me.” This was the plea of Rinkle Kumari, 19, the Hindu girl kidnapped, forced to convert to Islam, and forced to marry a Muslim man that she had never met.
Although the kidnapping of Hindu (and to a lesser extend Christian) girls is sickeningly commonplace, Kumari’s case received more attention than usual, partly due to protests by her family and local Hindu community.
Another factor was the implication of Mian Mittho, an elected member of the National Assembly, who was allegedly involved in the kidnapping case, and who attempted to cover it up.
Fr. Anwar Patras, of the Diocese of Rawalpindi, told AsiaNews that he condemned “with force” the kidnapping and forced conversion. “The Hindus in Sindh,” he said, “live a hard life. The reality is getting harder for them, they are forced to migrate because the state is unable to protect them and their property.”
Kumari was renamed “Faryal Shah” by her captors, in part of a campaign to utterly obliterate her Hindu identity and sense of self.
“As often happens in these cases,” says AsiaNews, “even the judiciary is complicit: a local judge ordered that the girl should be given to the Muslims, because her conversion is “the result of a spontaneous decision” and also stated the marriage was above board.”
At an earlier press conference police stood guard while two men from an Islamic organization slipped Kumari pieces of paper with writing on them while she spoke. When she admitted that she had never met her husband prior to the marriage the two men grabbed her by the arm, and marched her out to a waiting car and police escort.
Source : https://www.peopleofshambhala.com
