Monday, 17 January 2011


The following is research published today from MEMRI’s Special Dispatch Series about South Asia.

Special Dispatch No. 3508—Pakistan/Women's Topics/South Asia Studies Project

Pakistani Daily Reports – 'Child Marriages: 10 Year-Old Girls Traded for Rs. 100,000 [Approximately $1,150]'

On November 29, 2010, police officials in the Pakistani town of Sheikhupura raided a wedding hall and arrested the bridegroom and wedding guests as the marriage of a six year-old girl, Uzma, was being performed. Bilal Zafar, a local police officer, confirmed the arrest of Maulvi Ghaus, the cleric who was performing the marriage, as well as the 23 year-old bridegroom. Zafar stated, "we received a tip-off about the marriage but it took us a while to find the place as the wedding was being conducted in secret."

The incident drew an angry response from a newspaper reader, who wrote: "Surely this is a sign of pedophilia; how else does one justify a man in his 20s marrying a girl who is just six years-old? Why are we as a society so tolerant of such barbaric and medieval practices?" It seems that a large number of child marriages are taking place in Pakistan, especially in the rural areas of Sindh province, though only a few such cases are actually reported by the Pakistani media.

Sujag Sansar Organization, a children's rights charity working in the Dadu district of Sindh province, carried out a survey last year to assess the views of local families in six villages of the district. The organization believes the views of these families to be representative of the entire province. According to the survey's findings, some of the reasons for child marriages are: the tribal system of Watta Satta (exchange of brides between families), which is believed to be a key factor; financial reasons; and families' belief that underage marriage is not wrong. In addition, the survey notes that elders also arrange marriages of boys at young ages due to a lack of education and recreational facilities.

In the Dadu district a local journalist was found dead last year after reporting on the marriage of a young girl. A newspaper reader argued recently that child marriages are taking place because government officials are not implementing the provisions of the Child Marriage Restraint Act [of] 1929, which dictates: (1) Punishment for a male adult above 18 years of age for marrying a female child under 16 years of age; (2) punishment for performing such a child marriage; and (3) punishment for negligently failing to prevent the performance of a child marriage.

The Express Tribune, a Pakistani newspaper that has focused on this issue, recently published a report titled, "Child Marriages: 10 Year-Old Girls for Rs. 100,000," highlighting the issue of underage marriages in Pakistan.

To read the full report, visit http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/4913.htm.

Special Dispatch No. 3507—Pakistan/Islamic Reform/South Asia Studies Project

Pakistani Writer Discusses the Question of Islam and Secularism, States: 'Muslim Societies… have Spiritual Values Intact, But have Relegated Governance to Mullahs [Islamic Clerics] Instead of Field Experts'


Image courtesy: tahirimran.com

In a recent article, Pakistani writer Abdul Quayyum Khan Kundi discussed the question of governance in Islamic societies, arguing that while secularism in the Western world curtailed the role of the Church, the situation is the opposite in Muslim societies where governance has been left to the dictates of Islamic clerics.

In the article, titled "Secularism and Islam," Kundi, who is President of the Pakistan Chamber of Commerce – USA, wrote that this trend in Muslim societies began after the Islamic state expanded from the 6th century onwards to Spain and Turkey in Europe, parts of Central and South Asia, and North Africa. From the 6th to 15th centuries, Islamic clerics were supposed to educate non-Muslims about Islam in these societies but assumed a far greater say in government policy making.

Kundi also noted: "In an Islamic society, a candidate should not seek public office; rather the people should choose the person they feel is most suitable for the post. That is an advanced concept even today and addresses the dilemma of conflict of interest. The U.S. presidential system comes quite close to the Islamic form of government."

To read the full report, visit http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/4912.htm.

Special Dispatch No. 3506—Pakistan/South Asia Studies Project

Pakistani Lawmaker Marvi Menon Slams Anti-Hindu Violence in Pakistan, Says: 'This is the Biggest Failure of the So-Called Islamic Republic of Pakistan – That Its Minorities Don't Feel Safe On Their Own Soil'


Image courtesy: new-pakistan.com

The December 21, 2010 kidnapping of Lakki Chand Garji, one of the most revered Hindu spiritual leaders in Pakistan and an official of the Kala Mata temple in the Kalat district of Pakistan's Baluchistan province, led to strong protest by minority Hindus in the province. This kidnapping is just one in a series of such violent incidents against the Hindu minority in Pakistan.

In recent years, a number of Hindus in Pakistan have been kidnapped for ransom or for forced conversion to Islam, especially in Sindh province. These incidents are generally ignored by the Pakistani authorities, because the Hindu minority lacks support among government officials as well as in the local society, which is predominantly Muslim.

In addition, such incidents are rarely reported by the leading Pakistani media groups. During the Pakistan floods of August-September 2010, Hindus and Ahmadi Muslims were denied flood relief by Pakistani government officials. The News daily reported that government officials at the Mir Imdad camp, outside the historical Jhirk Town in the Thatta district of Sindh province, denied aid to Hindu children.

The kidnappings of Hindus have become frequent recently in the interior areas of Sindh; according to a report, members of the minority community are now migrating to urban centers and in many cases to India. A media report of mid-October 2010 noted: "Since the beginning of this year, at least eight children of this family have been kidnapped and released in return for a hefty ransom [in interior Sindh]."

In March 2009, 35 Pakistani Hindus from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATAs) of Pakistan went to India and asked for asylum. Jagdish Sharma, the Hindu community leader who accompanied them to India, said: "In Pakistan, we were living in extreme fear, due to the domination of a strong group of Taliban who are running a parallel government." Also in July 2009, a group of 100 Pakistani Hindus went to India and sought permission to live there.

This migration to India is part of a pattern. In September 2009, an Indian website reported: "In the past four years, some 5,000 Hindus may have crossed over from Pakistan, never to return."

In March 2010, Amarnath Motumal, an advocate and member of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), said that as many as 20 to 25 girls from the Hindu community in Pakistan are abducted every month and converted forcibly to Islam, adding: "According to estimates, in Karachi alone, a large number of Hindu girls are being kidnapped on a routine basis [and converted to Islam]." Bherulal Balani, a former legislator, reported: "Once the girls are converted, they are then sold to other people or are forced into illegal and immoral activities."

In October 2010, a committee of the Pakistani Senate expressed concern over reports that Hindu girls in the country's Sindh province are being abducted for forced conversion to Islam. At a meeting of the Senate Committee on Minority Affairs, Senator Dr. Khatu Mal Jeewan reported the same.

In a recent article, acclaimed Pakistani lawmaker Marvi Memon, who belongs to the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-Q) party, criticized the failure of the government officials to stop discrimination and violence against Pakistani Hindus. Noting that she has altered her position against death penalty due to continuing violence against Pakistani Hindus, Ms. Memon said: "The tragedy is that as a result of these kidnappings, many Hindu families have migrated to India. After all, it is better to live in another country than in perpetual fear [in your own country, Pakistan]."

To read the full report, visit http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/4911.htm.

Posted by Britannia Radio at 12:59