Minor Hindu girl abducted, forcibly converted to Islam and married by Muslim man in Pakistan
Tando Muhammad Khan, Sindh, Pakistan 
7 October, 2023
Case Summary
In Tando Muhammad Khan city, located in Sindh province, Pakistan, a minor Hindu girl, Radha Meghwar, from the Meghwar community, a Dalit Hindu community, underwent abduction, forced conversion to Islam, and marriage by a Muslim man named Tharo Khaskhali. According to reports, the victim was abducted on 8 October 2023. The accused, the victim's family's neighbour, lived near their house. Tharo Khaskhali kidnapped Radha Meghwar and took her in a car with his friends. Tando Muhammad Khan police failed to act promptly. Three days later, on 11 October 2023, they registered a case regarding the girl’s abduction. After a week, police presented the accused, Tharo Khaskhali, and the victim, Radha Meghwar, in the local court, where Tharo Khaskhali stated that Radha Meghwar converted to Islam and they married. The victim's family presented her school certificate, which showed the girl was only 13 years old and legally too young to marry as a minor. The court ordered Radha Meghwar into a safe house, after which her parents returned home disappointed. Radha Meghwar’s father, Manu Meghwar, stated that his daughter was young, forcibly abducted, and her religion was forcibly changed. Under the law, a girl younger than 18 years cannot marry, rendering her marriage illegal. Despite this, police took no action against those involved. Radha Meghwar’s mother, Phulan Bai, stated that harassers coerced her daughter in court, forcing her to pretend not to recognise Phulan. She also demanded Radha’s immediate return to the family after a fully transparent investigation. 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.
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- 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. The other subcategory selected is- Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination. Within this, the tertiary categories selected are- 'Family claims grooming' 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. This case has been added under the hate crime database since the abduction, forced conversion of a minor Hindu girl, followed by her marriage to a Muslim man in Pakistan, starkly illustrates the exploitation of vulnerable Hindu minorities through coercion and force. Such incidents are not isolated cases; rather, they are part of a persistent and troubling pattern in Pakistan, where Hindu minorities, particularly young Hindu girls, are frequently targeted for kidnappings, forced religious conversions, and marriages to Muslim men. This ongoing trend showcases the systemic discrimination and violence faced by the Hindu community in Pakistan. The Hindu minority has been subjected to various forms of harassment, marginalisation, and abuse since the country’s inception. It is also important to state that the victim was a minor, which means the element of consent and genuine change of conscience was missing ab initio. Minors, due to their young age and lack of maturity, are particularly vulnerable to manipulation and coercion. They may not have the ability to fully understand the implications of converting to another religion, and the Muslim perpetrator purposely targeted and exploited this vulnerability of the victim. Since this case exemplifies the use of coercion, force and manipulation to achieve religious conversion, it is a blatant act of religious hate, which is why it has been documented here in the hate tracker. The act of forced conversion and subsequent marriage of the Hindu victim demonstrated the violation of her religious rights. It was a deliberate attempt to strip her of her Hindu faith and impose Islamic faith upon her. By targeting her religious beliefs, the perpetrator demonstrated clear animosity towards Hinduism and the Hindu community, making it a religiously motivated crime. Furthermore, the police registered the complaint late, and despite the victim's parents proving the girl was a minor, the court refused to return her to the family, instead sending her to a safe house. This behaviour showcases systemic persecution of Hindus in Pakistan, where authorities ignore religiously motivated hate crimes against Hindus, constituting institutionalised Hinduphobia. Since this case meets the parameters of a religiously motivated crime, it is being added to the hate crime database of the Hinduphobia Tracker.
Victim Details
Total Victim
1
Deceased
0
Gender
- Male 0
- Female 1
- Third Gender 0
- Unknown 0
Caste
- SC/ST 1
- OBC 0
- General 0
- Unknown 0
Age Group
- Minor 1
- Adult 0
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 0
Case Status
Case sub-judice
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
