NEW DELHI: A 21-year-old Hindu woman from Pakistan’s Sindh province was kidnapped from her hometown, taken to Punjab, pressured to convert to Islam and married to a Muslim man, according to a complaint filed by her family.
The woman, identified as Shirimati Reeta, is a resident of Rana Rajput Colony in Khipro tehsil of Sanghar district. She reportedly went missing from her hometown last week, prompting her brother Ravi Shankar to approach the authorities.
According to the complaint, CCTV footage from the family’s residence showed unidentified men taking Reeta away on August 24. The family also alleged that mobile phones and other valuables were taken during the incident.
The complaint further alleged that Reeta was subsequently taken to Gujranwala in Pakistan’s Punjab province, around 80 kilometres from Lahore. It was there, according to the allegations, that she was pressured to convert to Islam and marry Nazeer Hussain, a Muslim man who was already married.
Police recover Reeta and produce her in court
Punjab Police later recovered Reeta and produced her before a judicial magistrate on Monday. The court proceedings then focused on where she wanted to go and whether she should be placed in a state-run shelter.
The investigating officer asked the court for permission to send Reeta to Darul Aman, a government-run shelter, claiming that she was unwilling to return to her parents.
Her lawyers, Asad Jamal and Kheta Ram, opposed the request. They told the court that Reeta wanted to return home with her brother, who was present during the proceedings.
The magistrate subsequently asked Reeta to record her statement under oath. According to a court official, Reeta told the court that she wanted to return to her parents’ home of her own free will.
Following her statement, the magistrate allowed her to leave with her brother. The court placed responsibility for her safe custody and transportation back to her family home in Sanghar on her brother.
The court’s decision came after Reeta herself stated that she wanted to return to her family. Her statement was therefore central to the decision on where she would go after being recovered by the police.
Case highlights concerns over minority women
The incident has once again brought attention to longstanding concerns surrounding forced conversions, abductions and marriages involving women and girls from religious minority communities in Pakistan.
Rights groups have for years raised concerns about cases involving Hindu and other minority women, particularly those belonging to economically disadvantaged families. Such cases have frequently involved allegations of abduction, pressure to change religion and marriage without the consent of the woman or her family.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has previously cited estimates suggesting that hundreds of minority girls are subjected to coercion, abduction or pressure to convert and marry every year. Hindu girls have been identified by rights groups as a significant proportion of reported cases.
Activists and minority rights organisations have repeatedly called for stronger legal safeguards and more effective investigations in such cases. They have also argued that authorities need to ensure that women and girls from vulnerable communities are able to make decisions about their religion and marriage without intimidation or coercion.
In Reeta’s case, police intervention led to her recovery and her appearance before a magistrate. Her statement before the court ultimately allowed her to leave with her brother and return towards her family home in Sindh.
