A few days ago, Pooja Thakur, a minor Hindu girl from Sindh was abducted, forcibly converted to Islam, and married off to her captor, Nadeem Ali Mashori. Her case is the latest addition to a growing pattern of such atrocities, exposing the fragile and dangerous reality for minority communities in Islamic Republic of Pakistan, especially in Sindh, where forced conversions and marriages of Hindu girls have become an all-too-common nightmare.
Despite the tall claims of political leaders’ that minorities live in safety and enjoy religious freedom, the harsh truth on the ground tells a different story. These repeated cases underscore a deepening crisis, where religious minorities, particularly Hindu girls, endure horrific physical and psychological abuse under the pretense of “religious harmony.”
The process typically begins with the abduction itself, but families who seek justice face further cruelty. Many abductors retaliate with accusations against the victim’s family, claiming the conversions and marriages were voluntary. Reports from the victims’ families reveal that girls are often threatened and intimidated while in captivity, forcing them to testify in favor of their captors before authorities. This cycle of abuse, silenced voices, and manipulated testimonies paints a grim picture of Pakistan’s minority rights framework, or lack thereof.
The Sindh region, home to many of Pakistan’s Hindu communities, has long been a hotspot for forced conversions. Here, Hindu and Christian girls and women are abducted, raped and converted if not killed. Minorities are labeled as “kafirs” and subjected to conversion by radicals who see this as their religious duty. These cases represent a systematic assault on minority existence within an increasingly intolerant society.