17-year-old Hindu girl in Sindh kidnapped and converted to Islam; police claim she converted of her own will
Naukot, Sindh, Pakistan 
14 February, 2023
Case Summary
A 17-year-old Hindu minor, resident of Naukot, Mirpur Khas district in Sindh province, Pakistan was kidnapped on February 15 from Naukot market where she had gone with her younger brother to purchase vegetables. Her younger brother said the girl was being taunted by one Rouf, a resident of Umerkot and his two friends. Rouf along with his friends forcefully took the girl away with them. An FIR was not registered against Rouf and his friends but the victim's father filed a missing person complaint. On February 19, Naukot Police called the father and gave him a copy of the certificate dated February 18 which mentioned that the girl had embraced Islam of her own free will, changed her name and desired to stay with Rouf and his family.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been listed in the hate tracker under the prime category- Predatory proselytisation and the sub-category chosen under this is- Proselytisation by brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination- Religious brainwashing essentially means the often subtle and forcible indoctrination to induce someone to give up their religious beliefs to accept contrasting regimented ideas. Religious brainwashing also involves propaganda and manipulation. It involves the systematic effort, driven by religious malice and indoctrination, to persuade “non-believers’ to accept allegiance, command, or doctrine to and of a contrasting faith. Cases of such brainwashing are far more nuanced than direct threats, coercion, inducement and violence. In such cases, it is often seen that there is repeated, subtle and continual manipulation of the victim to induce disaffection towards their own faith and acceptance of the contrasting faith of the perpetrator. While subtle indoctrination is widely acknowledged as predatory, an element which is often understated in such conversions or the attempts of such conversion is the role of loyalty and trust which might develop between the perpetrator and the victim. Fiduciary relationships are often abused to affect such religious conversion. For example, an educator transmitting religious doctrine of a competing faith to a Hindu student. The Hindu student is likely to accept what the teacher is transmitting owing to existence of the fiduciary relationship. The exploitation of the fiduciary relationship to religiously indoctrinate victims would also be included in this category. Since the underlying animosity towards the victim’s faith forms the basis of predatory proselytization, such cases are considered religiously motivated hate crimes. In this instance, a Hindu minor girl was kidnapped and forcibly converted to Islam in Pakistan, a country that has experienced a persistent pattern of kidnappings, rapes, forced conversions, and ongoing harassment of Hindu minorities since its establishment. This troubling trend reflects systemic discrimination and violence against Hindu communities, where vulnerable individuals, especially young girls, are targeted for coercive religious conversion. Further, it is evident from the details that the Hindu victim was a minor which essentially means that the element of consent and genuine change of conscience was missing ab initio. It is a well-established fact that children are more susceptible to manipulation since they are still developing emotionally, cognitively, and socially. Their brains are not fully matured, making them more vulnerable to influence and less capable of critically evaluating information. Furthermore, even if the Pakistani police, in this case, claimed that the girl converted of her own free will, it is important to understand that when the victim is a minor, the "consent" to convert or enter into a romantic relationship with an adult is redundant- addressed by POCSO. Thus, it is evident that a Hindu minor was converted against his will in this case, as opposed to it being voluntary. Since the underlying offence in this case is against a minor girl of a specific faith and involves subtle tactics of indoctrination, which obviously stems from a bias against the Hindu faith, this case has been documented as a hate crime.
Victim Details
Total Victim
1
Deceased
0
Gender
- Male 0
- Female 1
- Third Gender 0
- Unknown 0
Caste
- SC/ST 0
- OBC 0
- General 0
- Unknown 1
Age Group
- Minor 1
- Adult 0
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 0
Case Status
Unknown
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
