A Christian family in Rawalpindi in the Punjab province of Pakistan is still awaiting the safe return of their 13-year-old daughter Zarvia Pervaiz 4 months after her abduction.
The minor girl was abducted, forcibly converted, and married off in the month of April by a man that the family chose to trust. The Pervaiz family had hosted Imran Shahzad , his wife Adiba, and 3 children at their house when they were going through a period of financial crisis in April.
Zarvia’s mother, Yasmeen, was disturbed by the abusive behaviour of Imran with his wife. She, therefore, asked the couple to vacate her house. On April 30 this year, Adiba paid a visit to her under the pretext of taking the minor girl to the grocery store.
Another day, another child thrown to the wolves. 12-year-old Christian girl Zarvia Pervaiz abducted, converted to Islam, married to 40 yr old abductor Imran in Rawalpindi. He has 3 children and a wife who helped him abduct Zarvia. Court rules the minor girl to stay with abductor. pic.twitter.com/vajlu7gONA
— Naila Inayat (@nailainayat) August 20, 2022
When she did not return, Yasmeen became worried and started looking for Zarvia in the market. She received a Whatsapp voice note from Imran, stating that the 13-year-old will never return to her.
It was only then Yasmeen realised that her daughter has been kidnapped. On the following day, she filed a police complaint at the Sadiqabad station. Imran and his wife Adiba were arrested by the cops within 2 weeks and the girl was escorted to safety.
However, in front of the magistrate, 13-year-old Zarvia claimed that she has converted to Islam out of her own free will. The girl also claimed that she married Imran in a consensual manner.
The Rawalpindi court ignored all principles of natural justice and upheld the ‘consent’ of a 13-year-old girl, despite the fact that minors cannot consent to anything. On July 13, the court rejected the plea of Yasmeen to gain custody of her daughter.
While speaking about the matter, she said, “Minorities do not fairly and fully enjoy the right of access to justice, as the police and court continue to favour perpetrators from the Muslim community, ignoring existing laws on forced marriage and sexual violence.”
Yasmeen further emphasised, “The discriminatory practice in investigations and trials encourages perpetrators to take minority underage girls away from their parents.” Christian activist Nadia Stephen pointed out that the court ruling was in violation of the Child Marriage Law, which prevents marriage under the age of 16.
1,000 Hindu and Christian women converted to Islam in Pakistan every year: Human rights activist
The Islamic country of Pakistan is a hotbed of violence against women, especially those belonging to minority Hindu, Christian, and Sikh communities. Ashiknaz Khokhar, a human rights activist informed last year that the kidnapping of minor girls from religious minorities is a common occurrence in Pakistan.
She said that over 1,000 girls belonging to Hindu and Christian communities are forcefully converted to Islam every year in Pakistan. Khokhar said, “The (Pakistan) government is not taking this issue seriously and parliament recently refused to pass the bill on forced conversion”.
