[Reader-list] PAKISTAN: A Hindu teenager is told to marry her alleged rapist

[A.K. Malik]

My Dear Sir,
               Human Rights are available only to a specific religious community whether in India or Pakistan.What if it was reverse, a Muslim girl having been raped by a Hindu male.The fellow would been dead by now and would anyone have asked the girl to convert to Hinduism and marry the fellow? All hell would have broken loose.
Regards,

(A.K.MALIK)


--- On Mon, 3/29/10, Pawan Durani <pawan.durani at gmail.com> wrote:

> From: Pawan Durani <pawan.durani at gmail.com>
> Subject: [Reader-list] PAKISTAN: A Hindu teenager is told to marry her alleged rapist
> To: "reader-list" <reader-list at sarai.net>
> Date: Monday, March 29, 2010, 9:36 AM
> PAKISTAN: A Hindu teenager is told to
> marry her alleged rapist; police
> and courts fail to act
> 
> The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that
> four men who
> allegedly assisted in the rape of a young Hindu girl have
> been granted
> pre-arrest bail by a session court. Rape is a non-bailable
> offense in
> Pakistan and this is against criminal procedure and the
> law. Attempts
> by the family to file an FIR and obtain a medical report
> have been
> obstructed by local police, who later arrested the victim's
> father on
> a false offense. Meanwhile members of an illegal tribal
> court have
> reportedly proposed that the victim marry her rapist and
> convert to
> Islam. She has threatened public self immolation if the
> perpetrators
> are not arrested and brought to justice by the
> authorities.
> 
> CASE DETAILS:
> 
> According to information received from local NGOs, the
> Pakistan Dalit
> Solidarity Network and All Kohli, Ms. Kastoori, seen in the
> video clip
> below (also here), is 17 years old and was abducted on 24
> January
> 2010.
> 
> After being taken in the evening by Ramzan Khoso, Habib
> Ullah Khoso
> and Ghulam Nabi Khoso, with the help of their armed guard
> Verio
> Gur-Ro, Kastoori was allegedly raped by Ramzan, the eldest
> of the
> brothers. She was recovered the next day from the mens'
> residence by a
> group from her community, where she was found tied up.
> 
> On 26 January Kastoori's parents tried to register a First
> Information
> Report at Nagar Parker police station but were turned away.
> Because of
> this they could not obtain an official medical checkup for
> her at the
> civil hospital or the Nagar Parker hospital, which they
> attempted to
> arrange on 27 January.
> 
> The family rejected an out of court sum offered to them by
> the father
> of the three perpetrators, Muhammad Bachaal Khoso, who is
> an office
> bearer for the local ruling political party and reportedly
> wields
> political influence. He arranged a jirga – an illegal
> tribal court –
> on 9 February, allegedly within the knowledge of Nagar
> Parker police
> officers. The jirga members allegedly pressured the
> victim's family to
> accept the marriage of the victim to her rapist and her
> conversion
> Islam. The family rejected this proposal and continued to
> try to use
> legal channels.
> 
> With the help of NGOs Kastoori's father was able to file a
> petition
> with the Sindh High Court on February 12, which ordered the
> filing of
> an FIR and a medical examination on 17 February. The report
> noted that
> due to the length of time since the alleged rape it could
> not find the
> necessary evidence.
> Although an FIR was finally lodged on February 17 under
> Section 365-B,
> the perpetrators were not arrested because they had
> successfully
> applied for pre-arrest bail from the Sessions Court in
> Mithi, even
> though the court is not authorized to do so at that level.
> We are told
> that the police then arrested the father of the victim
> (along with 12
> others) on February 18 for stealing valuable sap from a
> Guggal plant,
> although Guggal is not cultivated in the area.
> 
> At the Hyderabad press club Kastoori (featured in the You
> Tube video,
> embedded) has threatened to publically kill herself if the
> perpetrators are not arrested. Mr. Hameed Chand, Assistant
> Sub
> Inspector in Naga Parker, and the investigation officer
> have told
> human rights activists that they are being prevented from
> pursuing the
> case by ruling party members and local landlords. The
> victim and her
> family are in hiding, and civil society protests have
> reportedly not
> resulted in further action from the authorities.
> 
> ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
> 
> The AHRC received frequent reports of forced marriages of
> minority
> girls with Muslim men in areas along the Indian borders
> that have
> large Dalit Hindu populations, such as Thar Parker, Nagar
> Parker, Umer
> Kot, Mithi and Karoonjhar. The term Dalits are members of a
> scheduled
> caste, and due to the position of many as bonded labourers,
> female
> Dalits are particularly vulnerable to abuse. It is not
> unknown for
> Muslim seminaries to urge the forced conversion of Dalit
> women.
> 
> The AHRC has documented several such cases, including
> UA-008-2006 and
> UG-020-2006 and is aware of many more, in which Hindu
> scheduled caste
> and Christian women and girls have been abducted by Muslim
> men and
> raped. When confronted by the authorities perpetrators are
> often able
> to produce a marriage certificate from a seminary
> confirming the
> marriage and conversion of the victim. The girls are often
> taken out
> of contact with their families entirely, and various cases
> have been
> documented in which the courts have condoned such marriages
> with girls
> below the age of consent.
> 
> SUGGESTED ACTION:
> 
> Please write to the authorities listed below asking them to
> intervene
> to ensure that the perpetrators of this crime are arrested,
> and any
> police officers proven to be involved in their protection
> also face
> legal action. Please also urge for protection of the victim
> and her
> family.
> 
> The AHRC has written a separate letter to UN Special
> Rapporteur on
> Violence against women, its causes and consequences and
> the
> Independent Expert on Minority Issues calling for their
> intervention
> into this case.
> 
> ------------------------------------------------------
> 
> SAMPLE LETTER:
> 
> Dear __________,
> 
> Re: PAKISTAN: A Hindu teenager is told to marry her alleged
> rapist;
> police and courts fail to act
> 
> Name of victim:
> Miss Kastoori, daughter of Nawo Kalhi, resident of Mokrio
> village,
> Nagar Parker town, Thar Parker district, Sindh province
> 
> Name of alleged perpetrators:
> 1. Mr. Ramzan Khoso
> 2. Mr. Habib Ullah Khoso,
> 3. Mr. Ghulam Nabi Khoso
> All sons of Muhammad Bachaal Khoso and residents of Mokrio
> village,
> Nagar Parker town, Thar Parker district, Sindh province.
> 4. Mr. Verio Gur-Ro, resident of Mokrio village, Nagar
> Parker town,
> Thar Parker district, Sindh province.
> 5. Mr. Hameed Chand, assistant sub inspector, investigation
> officer at
> Nagar Parker police station, Nagar Parker, district Thar
> Parker, Sindh
> province
> 6. Inspector Mohammad Khan Rind, Station Head Officer at
> the time of
> incident of Nagar Parker police station, Nagar Parker,
> district Thar
> Parker, Sindh province
> 
> Date of incident: January 24, 2010
> Place of incident: Mokrio village, Nagar Parker, Thar
> Parker district,
> Sindh province
> 
> I am writing to voice my deep concern regarding the actions
> taken by
> Mithi Sessions Court and Nagar Parker police in response to
> the
> alleged rape of a teenage girl.
> 
> I am told that the victim, Ms. Kastoori is 17 years old and
> was raped
> by Mr. Ramzan Khoso with the help of three other
> perpetrators named
> above. On 26 January Ms. Kastoori's parents tried to
> register a First
> Information Report at Nagar Parker police station but were
> turned
> away. Because of this they could not obtain an official
> medical
> checkup for her at the civil hospital or the Nagar Parker
> hospital,
> which they attempted to arrange on 27 January.
> 
> I am told that police officers were aware that the family
> rejected an
> out of court sum offered to them by the father of the
> three
> perpetrators, Mr. Muhammad Bachaal Khoso – an office
> bearer for the
> local ruling political party – and of the jirga that he
> then
> organized. In this jirga on 9 February I am told that the
> victim's
> family was pressured, unsuccessfully, to accept the
> marriage of the
> victim to her rapist and her conversion Islam.
> 
> With the help of NGOs, Kastoori's father Mr. Nawo Kalhi was
> able to
> file a petition with the Sindh High Court on February 12,
> leading to
> the filing of an FIR and a medical examination on 17
> February. However
> the medical report noted that due to the length of time
> since the
> alleged rape it could not find the necessary evidence.
> 
> Although an FIR was finally lodged on February 17 under
> Section 365-B
> of the Pakistan Penal Code, the perpetrators were not
> arrested because
> they had successfully applied for pre-arrest bail from the
> Sessions
> Court in Mithi. The court is not authorized to do so at
> that level. I
> understand that the police then arrested the father of the
> victim
> (along with 12 others) on February 18 for a fabricated
> crime relating
> to forestry.
> 
> Mr. Hameed Chand, the Assistant Sub Inspector in Nagar
> Parker and the
> investigating officer of this case has reportedly told
> human rights
> activists that he is being prevented from pursuing the case
> by ruling
> party members and local landlords. I urge that these
> allegations be
> immediately investigated. I am told that the victim and her
> family are
> in hiding and need state protection.
> 
> I understand that this is one of numerous cases coming from
> border
> areas with large Hindu Dalit populations, involving the
> rape of a
> Dalit girl and the attempt to forcibly convert her to Islam
> by
> marriage. This issue clearly needs addressing at the
> highest levels.
> Many Dalits in these areas are engaged in bonded labour,
> and women of
> the caste need strong institutional support and protection
> from abuse.
> 
> Intervention is therefore urgently needed to ensure the
> arrest of the
> perpetrators, and of any police officers proven to have
> obstructed the
> course of justice. It is absolutely necessary that the
> authorities
> send a message of zero tolerance for impunity, particularly
> regarding
> violations against women and minorities.
> 
> Yours sincerely,
> 
> 
> -----------------
> 
> 
> PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:
> 
> 1. Prime Minister
> Prime Minister House
> Islamabad
> PAKISTAN
> Fax: +92 51 922 1596
> Tel: +92 51 920 6111 +92 51 920 6111
> E-mail: secretary at cabinet.gov.pk
> 
> 2. Dr. Ishrat-ul-Ebad Khan
> Governor of Sindh province
> Karachi, Sindh Province
> PAKISTAN
> Fax: +92 21 920 5043
> Tel: +92 21 920 1201 +92 21 920 1201
> E-mail: governor at governorsindh.gov.pk
> 
> 3. Syed Qaim Ali Shah
> Chief Minister
> Karachi, Sindh Province
> PAKISTAN
> Fax: +92 21 920 2000
> Email: pressecy at cmsindh.gov.pk
> 
> 4. Mr.Syed Mumtaz Alam Gillani
> Federal Minister for Human Rights
> Ministry of Human Rights
> Old US Aid building
> Ata Turk Avenue
> G-5, Islamabad
> PAKISTAN
> Fax: +9251-9204108
> Email: sarfaraz_yousuf at yahoo.com
> 
> 5. Chief Justice of Sindh High Court
> High Court Building
> Saddar, Karachi
> Sindh Province
> PAKISTAN
> Fax: +92 21 9213220
> E-mail: registrar at sindhhighcourt.gov.pk
> 
> 6. Ms. Nadia Gabol
> Minister for Human Rights
> Government of Sindh,
> Pakistan secretariat, Barrack 92,
> Karachi, Sindh Province
> PAKISTAN
> Fax: +92 21 9207044
> Tel: +92 21 9207043 +92 21 9207043
> E-mail: lukshmil at yahoo.com
> 
> 7. Dr. Faqir Hussain
> Registrar
> Supreme Court of Pakistan
> Constitution Avenue, Islamabad
> PAKISTAN
> Fax: + 92 51 9213452
> E-mail: mail at supremecourt.gov.pk
> 
> --------------------------------
> 
> Thank you.
> 
> Urgent Appeals Programme
> Asian Human Rights Commission (ua at ahrchk.org)
> Thank you.
> 
> 
> SOURCE : http://www.voxpublica.org/2010/03/pakistan_a_hindu_teenager_is_t.html
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