Case Summary

In Sultanabad, located in the Sindh province in Pakistan, a Hindu woman, her 15-year-old daughter, and two other Hindu girls were abducted by Muslims. Subsequently, they were forcibly converted to Islam and married off to Muslim men. According to media reports, the Hindu woman was identified as Roshini Meghwar, while the names of the minor girls remained unknown. The Hindu victims were also subjected to sexual violence by the Muslim perpetrators. The incident sparked outrage and deep sorrow within the local Hindu community. In a heart-wrenching plea to the media, Roshini Meghwar questioned, “Do we give birth to our daughters for Muslim men to marry?” She further asked, “Would Muslims give their daughters to Hindus? Why are they snatching our daughters?” Furthermore, Roshini also reported, “The biggest misfortune is to be born as a minority in Pakistan. Every other day, the news of rape, forced conversion, and marriage comes to light. The culprits roam freely and the vulnerable suffer.” This case highlights the persistent persecution faced by the Hindu minorities in Pakistan, marked by systemic discrimination, violence, and forced conversions. Hindu women, particularly young girls, are often abducted, forcibly converted to Islam, and married off to Muslim men with little to no legal recourse. Temples are frequently vandalised or destroyed, and Hindu communities are subjected to social and economic marginalisation. Blasphemy laws are disproportionately used against Hindus, leading to false accusations and severe punishments. Many Hindu families are forced to flee their homes due to religious intolerance, living in constant fear of attacks. This sustained persecution highlights the dire conditions for Hindus in Pakistan, where their religious identity makes them targets of oppression.

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Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category- Predatory Proselytisation. Within this, the subcategory selected is- Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination. The tertiary category selected is - 'Rape and sexual assault/harassment' and 'Conversion of minor'. 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 grooming or 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 grooming or 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. The other subcategory selected is- Harassment, threats, coercion for conversion. Harassment covers a wide range of behaviours of an offensive nature. It is commonly understood as behaviour that demeans, humiliates, and intimidates a person, including threats and coercion. Harassment and threats, in this case, find their root on discriminatory grounds which has the effect of nullifying a person’s rights or infringing upon his freedom to exercise his right specifically owing to the victim’s religious identity. Verbal and physical threats and psychological or physical harassment are often used against Hindu victims because they choose to practice their professed religion. Religious harassment also includes forced and involuntary conversions by harassment, threats or coercion. Coercion includes intimidatory tactics like force-feeding a Hindu victim beef to convert to another religion, forceful circumcision etc. In several cases documented, non-Hindu perpetrators or those who harbour specific animosity towards Hinduism, harass victims simply based on their religious identity. Such cases often also include harassment to ensure the Hindu victim abandons his/her professed religion and adopts the religion of the perpetrator. Such cases where Hindu victims are harassed to convert to the perpetrator’s religion are rooted in animosity towards the victim’s religious identity and are therefore documented as religiously motivated hate crimes. In this case, the abduction, sexual exploitation, and forced conversion of the Hindu victims, followed by their marriage to Muslim men in Pakistan, starkly illustrate the exploitation of vulnerable Hindu minorities through coercion and manipulation. Such incidents are not isolated cases; rather, they are part of a persistent and troubling pattern in Pakistan, where Hindu minorities, including young girls, are frequently targeted for kidnappings, forced religious conversions, and marriages to Muslim men. This ongoing trend showcases the persistent violence faced by the Hindu community in Pakistan. Hindus have been subjected to various forms of harassment, marginalisation, and abuse since the country’s inception. It is also important to note that the victims also include minor girls. This is critical, as it negates any genuine element of consent or voluntary change of faith from the outset. Children, due to their ongoing emotional and cognitive development, are especially susceptible to manipulation and indoctrination, making them easy targets for those seeking to exploit religious or social vulnerabilities. When such targeted attacks are perpetrated against minors of a specific faith, using abduction and coercion tactics, then they are clear instances of hate crimes and clear violations of human rights, child protection norms, and religious autonomy of the victims involved. It is also important to note that the Hindu victims were subjected to sexual assault by the Muslim perpetrators. These acts were not merely isolated incidents of sexual violence; rather, they were religiously motivated crimes specifically targeting Hindu women and girls. The deliberate selection of Hindu victims for sexual violation because of their religious identity is a clear illustration of a religiously motivated hate crime. Such actions are rooted in indoctrination derived from Islamic theology, which promotes the subjugation and sexual exploitation of non-Muslim women, in this case, Hindus, firmly establishing this as a crime driven by religious animosity. Furthermore, the victim, Roshini Meghwar, also reported that such crimes against Hindu women and girls were very common in Pakistan and that law enforcement would not act against the Muslim perpetrators. This highlights a persistent and well-coordinated effort by the Muslim perpetrators to further the broader agenda of religious conversions. Such acts are not only violations of personal freedom but are deliberate efforts to strip Hindu victims of their faith and identity. Such actions are rooted in deep-seated religious intolerance towards the Hindu community and their beliefs. Therefore, this case is a clear example of a religiously motivated crime. Furthermore, the state authorities' inaction emboldens the Muslim perpetrators and reinforces a system in which Hindu minorities are denied justice, subjected to targeted hate crimes, and stripped of their religious rights. This case serves as yet another example of the ongoing crisis of forced conversions and the systematic persecution faced by Hindus in Pakistan. Given that the motive behind this crime was rooted in religious hostility and hatred, it has been accordingly documented under the hate crime database.