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Hindu, Christian Women ‘Marketed’ by Pakistan as ‘Concubines’ in China: U.S. Official

• ARUL LOUIS/IANS
 

Pakistan is marketing Hindu and Christian women as “concubines” and “forced brides” to China, according to top U.S. diplomat for religious freedom, Samuel Brownback.One of the sources of “forced brides” for Chinese men are “religious minorities, Christian and Hindu women, being marketed as concubines and are forced as brides into China,” Brownback told reporters Dec. 8.That was happening “because there’s not effective support and there’s discrimination against religious minorities that make them more vulnerable,” he said.

He mentioned this as one of the reasons for designating Pakistan as a country of particular concern (CPC) under the International Religious Freedom Act.

Because of the one-child policy imposed by China for decades, there is an acute shortage of women given the cultural preference for boys leading to Chinese men importing women from other countries as brides, mistresses and laborers.The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom had recommended placing India also on the CPC list, citing among other issues the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), but Secretary of State Mike Pompeo rejected the suggestion when he announced the designations Dec. 7.Brownback, however, said that Washington was watching the Indian situation closely and “these issues have been raised in private discussions at the government, high government level, and they will continue to get raised.”The CAA expedites citizenship for Hindus, Christians, Buddhists and Sikhs fleeing religious persecution in neighboring Islamic or Muslim majority countries but does not prevent Muslims from getting citizenship after following the usual procedures.

The U.S. has a legal provision similar to the CAA which is known as the Specter Amendment that is tucked into the budget bill giving asylum to some non-Muslim minorities from Iran, while pointedly excluding Muslim.

Asked by a Pakistani reporter if there was a double standard in Pompeo giving Pakistan the CPC designation and not India, Brownback said that while in Pakistan, a lot of the actions against minorities are taken by the government, that was not the case in India.

“Pakistan has half of the world’s people that are locked up for apostasy or blasphemy,” he said.

He said that in India, some of the actions like the CAA are taken by the government but there are others like “much of its communal violence” and then when they take place, “we try to determine whether or not there has been an effective police enforcement, judicial action after communal violence takes place.”

“That doesn’t mean that we don’t have problems with the statute (CAA),” he said. “The violence is a problem. We will continue to raise those issues.”

“Those are some of the basis as to why Pakistan continues to be on the CPC list and India is not,” he said.

“These are issues that people spend a great deal of time reviewing and we review extensively the situation in Pakistan, in both countries,” added Brownback, whose formal title is Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom.

Answering an American reporter’s question as to why Pompeo did not follow the USCIRF recommendation to designate India as a CPC, Brownback said, “I can’t go into the decision-making process that the Secretary went through.” But, he said, Pompeo is “well aware of a lot of the communal violence that is happening in India as well as aware of the statutes that have been enacted and some of the issues associated with the (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi government and, as I said, he has raised at the highest level, but just decided at this point in time not to place them on a CPC or a special watch list.”

Brownback said that there were also “several recommendations made by the commission that the secretary did not follow, and this was one of them.”

Pompeo did not follow the recommendations to designate Russia and Vietnam as CPCs.

In addition to Pakistan, Pompeo put China, Myanmar, Eritrea, Iran, Nigeria, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan on the CPC list.

https://www.indiawest.com/news/india/hindu-christian-women-marketed-by-pakistan-as-concubines-in-china-u-s-official/article_07791a3a-3b0d-11eb-876e-ef5a3f911209.html

On International Human Rights Day, Pakistan’s Religious Minorities Declare Dec. 10 as ‘Black Day for Human Rights’

 By Melissa Enaje

As the United Nations and various international organizations observe Dec. 10 as the annual day to declare the dignity and human rights of all persons, Pakistan’s religious minorities planned demonstrations against increased abductions and forced conversions and marriages of their women and girls by Muslims.

“Human rights activists, defenders of minority rights, social workers, as well as Church, political, and civil society leaders in Pakistan are inviting all citizens to join this ‘battle of civilization and democracy’ for the country,” Vatican News reported.

A string of unrelated events erupted in Pakistan in the days leading up to the Dec.10 event, including the release of 12-year-old Christian girl Farah Shaheen. Five months before Shaheen’s release on Dec. 6, three Muslim men allegedly kidnapped her from her parent’s house, forcibly converted her to Islam, and then one of the men married her. According to a local report, after her release, police brought Shaheen to a shelter house as her court trial was underway.

According to the faith-based advocacy organization, ADF International, an estimated 1,000 women and girls from religious minorities are forcibly married and converted to Islam every year.

“We hope the international community will open its eyes to what is happening in Pakistan and help protect Christians and other minorities who belong to some of the most vulnerable groups in the country,” said ADF International’s Director of Advocacy Tehmina Arora.

The day after Shaheen’s release, 37-year-old journalist Qais Javed, who identified as Methodist Christian, died in a drive-by shooting in the northwestern city of Dera Ismail Khan on Dec. 7. Javed became the fourth member of the media killed in the country in the past year.

Javed was the son of a former member of the ruling Pakistan Justice Party. According to the family’s police report, the two were about to enter their house when they came under attack. 

Religious minority

According to research by the Library of Congress, nearly 97 percent of all Pakistanis are Muslims, with most of that population identifying as Sunni Muslims. Official documentation states that Christians, Hindus, and members of other religions each account for about 1 percent of the population.

The non-Muslim minorities have limited influence on national policy, having secured representation only in provincial assemblies. In 1992, the Pakistani government allowed religious affiliation to be indicated on personal identification cards needed to complete tasks such as attending school, opening a bank account, casting a vote, or even obtaining a passport. Minority groups organized demonstrations to protest discriminatory policies but were shut down by the government at the time.

Speaking to Vatican News on behalf of the “Black Day” was activist Khalid Shahzad, known for supporting human and minority rights in Lahore, the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the country’s second-largest city.

“We encourage all Pakistani citizens to join our call to observe International Human Rights Day as a ‘Black Day,’ especially for our Christian community,” said Shahzad. “We see fundamental rights and freedom trampled every day. Our daughters are kidnapped and forcibly converted, only to be forced to marry their kidnappers, often supported by the police because they are Muslim.”

Protecting the human rights of every citizen is the key responsibility of the state, Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari

 

Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said that protecting the human rights of every citizen is the key responsibility of the state.

In his message on the occasion of Human Rights Day being celebrated worldwide under the United Nations, the PPP Chairman said that his Party was fighting for the protection of human rights of Pakistan since its inception. “Our struggle for equal respect and protection of human rights of every citizen continues despite facing martyrdoms, victimisation, imprisonments, torture and slanderous campaigns,” he stated.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that countries are adjudged through their human rights record and progress and prosperity are naturally linked to upholding human rights of every citizen regardless of religion, gender, creed, caste or ethnicity.  ““Freedom of expression, freedom of religion and belief, women and children’s rights and protection of vulnerable segments has to be ensured for a peaceful and progressive society,” he added.
He stressed that the international community should take notice of the grave violations of human rights in Indian-held Kashmir and ensure that India ends its atrocities on Kashmir and respects the right of their franchise for a referendum.
PPP Chairman pledged that his Party’s role as the torch-bearer of human rights campaign would never compromise on protection of human rights under any situation.

https://www.ppp.org.pk/pr/24151/