Forced conversions torment Pakistan's Hindus

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Hyderabad, Pakistan - About two months ago, a Muslim businessman approached Dharmo Sochi and put a gun to his head, demanding his Hindu daughter's hand in marriage. The businessman, Jameel Solangi, allegedly threatened the family with abduction and murder unless they acquiesced. Sochi's 16-year-old daughter, Madhuri, had previously been harassed by Solangi but was too traumatised to tell the family about it, according to her aunt, Sri Devi. "Dharmo dared him to shoot," Sri Devi told Al Jazeera. "He thought it better to die than allow this unholy union between Hindu and Muslim. Somehow we pushed Solangi out of the house and no one was hurt." From that day onwards, Madhuri - who works as a panhandler, the traditional profession for women from her Sochi caste - was too fearful to leave the house. Pakistan is home to about two million Hindus, most of whom live in the southern province of Sindh and belong to lower castes, including Sochi. While upper-caste Hindus complain of their traders being kidnapped for ransom, lower-caste Hindus say their daughters are being targeted. "Our community can bear looting and the kidnapping of our men, but the abduction of our daughters and wives is too painful," Bhawan Das, who holds a National Assembly seat reserved for minorities, told Al Jazeera. "Unfortunately, the frequency of these crimes is increasing due to religious extremism."

According to a report from the Movement for Solidarity and Peace:

[pdf]d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/msp/pages/162/attachments/original/1396724215/MSP_Report_-_Forced_Marriages_and_Conversions_of_Christian_Women_in_Pakistan.pdf[/pdf]


Read more here:
Forced conversions torment Pakistan's Hindus - Features - Al Jazeera English
 

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