Rape Epidemic in Pakistan

The month of September has witnessed a series of brutal rapes throughout the nation of Pakistan.  On Sept. 5th,  a 22-year-old schoolteacher by the name of Farwa Shakeel from the city of Bahawalpur, Pakistan was abducted and killed by a group of gang rapists.  Farwa had rejected a proposal by her 17-year-old neighbor Muhammad Muavia.  

 Neighbors reported to the police that they heard her screaming but by the time they arrived, they were too late.  The police were notified and her body was later found at a canal nearby.  Autopsy reveals she was tortured and raped multiple times.  Unfortunately, it's not uncommon for women in Pakistan to be killed for rejecting marriage proposals.  
Women who reject marriage proposals are not the only ones at risk from this ongoing rape epidemic.  Recently, Imam Masjid of Islamabad was arrested for attempting to rape a 12-year-old girl.  This child was one of his students in his Qur'an instruction class.  Luckily, her parents heard her cries for help.  They found Imam Masjid attempting to rape their daughter.  They caught him, beat him, and had him arrested by the Pakistani police.  This little girl was very lucky.  Many rapists in Pakistan are not captured and brought to justice.  

As bad as the plight is for many women in Pakistan, none have it worse than those who belong to a minority faith.  Recently, a group of Muslims brought this young Hindu woman to court displayed a certificate, claiming she had converted to Islam.  This young woman is denying this, and has stated that she was kidnapped against her will, raped, and forcibly converted.  Unfortunately, this is not unusual.  Pakistani Ahamdi-Muslim human rights activist Qashid Rashim revealed that Hindu and Christian women in Pakistan are constantly targeted for rape and forced conversion.  Hindus in Pakistan have repeatedly been the target of forced conversions, rape, razed temples, job discrimination, and pogroms.  Pakistan was once home to over 4 million Hindus, but over the years thousands have fled the nation to escape this persecution.  

 In Pakistan, the rape and forced conversion of women belonging to a religious minority is all too common, and the perpetrators are seldom brought to justice as the corrupt and prejudicial law enforcement agencies choose to look the other way.  It is up to the Pakistani people to set their prejudices aside and start fighting for the rights of all women, and a most fundamental human right is the right not to be raped.  


Sources:

 Rashid, Qasim.  The Wrong Kind of Muslim: An Untold Story of Persecution and Perseverance.”  United States: AyHa Publishing, 2013.

 Ansari, Ahsan.  "17-Year-Old Arrested for Kidnapping Neighbor in Bahawalpur."  Samaa.  Sept. 12, 2019 from https://www.samaa.tv/news/violence/2019/09/17-year-old-arrested-for-kidnapping-neighbour-in-bahawalpur/


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