Tag: Arzoo Raja

  • Child marriage: Rape charges added in Arzoo Raja case

    Child marriage: Rape charges added in Arzoo Raja case

    Sindh police have added rape charges in the FIR [first information report] against the purported husband of teenage Christian girl Arzoo Raja who married the minor after forced proselytisation.

    Along with Syed Ali Azhar, six other people, including two lawyers and justice of peace, were also booked in the case. They have been charged under Section 3 (punishment for male contracting party), Section 4 (punishment for solemnising a child marriage) and Section 5 (punishment for parent or guardian concerned in a child marriage) of the Sindh Child Marriages Restraint Act.

    Azhar has also been charged with Section 375 (v) (sexual intercourse with a minor) of the Pakistan Penal Code. 

    The brothers and a friend of the prime suspect were absolved of all charges for lack of evidence, whereas the kidnapping charge was also struck down following Arzoo’s denial, who has been sent to a shelter home by the court.

    Meanwhile, a report in Geo News claimed that Arzoo Raja has tested positive for coronavirus and is in isolation at Panah Shelter Home.

    CASE:

    Prime suspect Ali Azhar allegedly abducted Arzoo from Karachi’s Muhalla Railway Colony West Camp Road locality on Oct 13, according to the family, which registered a kidnapping case on the same day. On Oct 15 police summoned them to the local station and showed them documents claiming that Arzoo was 18 years old and had willingly converted to Islam to marry Azhar.

    Subsequently, a plea was filed in the Sindh High Court and the court allowed Arzoo Raja to stay with her alleged husband. However, following an uproar, a review plea was filed and the court ordered the formation of a medical board to determine the age of the girl.

    The medical board report found out that the girl was a teenager, strengthening the family’s claims that their girl was abducted was forced to convert for marriage.

  • Medical test proves Arzoo Raja is a minor

    Medical test proves Arzoo Raja is a minor

    A medical test has proven that Arzoo Raja, the teenage Christian girl who was allegedly abducted before being forcefully converted and married to a Muslim man, is around 14 years of age, social activist and lawyer Jibran Nasir announced on Monday.

    According to Jibran, who is part of the legal team fighting the case on behalf of Arzoo’s parents, the Sindh High Court (SHC) has also recognised NADRA (National Database & Registration Authority) documents stating Arzoo’s age to be 13 as true.

    “[The court] declares prima facie [at first sight] she contracted child marriage. Arzoo to remain in shelter home till next hearing,” he tweeted.

    In a subsequent tweet, Jibran added that the court has not disposed off the petition and the next hearing will be held after two weeks.

    “Court is yet to determine whether #Arzoo is sui juris [of one’s own right] to convert religion of free will given her age of 13. At this stage, only question of child marriage has been addressed and resolved,” he said further.

    Earlier, amid public outrage, Sindh government spokesperson Murtaza Wahab had announced Arzoo’s recovery.

    Speaking to Dawn, acting Karachi police chief Additional IG Arif Hanif had confirmed that the 13-year-old girl had been recovered safely and her purported husband had also been arrested.

    The city police chief had said the girl would be sent to a shelter home as per the directions of the SHC while the suspect would be presented before the court.

    “The judge has ordered the girl be recovered by police and relevant agencies and shifted to a shelter home. Next hearing fixed for Thursday morning [November 5]. My lawyer has informed the court that an intervener will be filed on my behalf,” Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari had said in a tweet.

    Officials, including Sindh Governor Imran Ismail, have been reiterating resolve of the authorities concerned to resolve Arzoo’s case at the earliest.

  • Teenage Christian bride Arzoo Raja recovered, alleged husband detained

    Teenage Christian bride Arzoo Raja recovered, alleged husband detained

    The Karachi police have recovered 13-year-old Christian girl Arzoo Raja and arrested the main accused Ali Azhar, who had allegedly abducted and married her after converting her to Islam.

    Newsday Pakistan reported that the teenager will be sent to a Darul Aman (women’s shelter) as per the order of the Sindh High Court, which had directed police to recover Arzoo and present her in court on Nov 5.

    On Monday, the Sindh High Court had asked the police to recover and produce Arzoo Raja in the court on Nov 5.

    The CASE:

    On Oct 27, a two-member bench of SHC had admitted a petition filed on behalf of Arzoo Raja that claimed that she was 18 years old and had married Ali Azhar and converted to Islam with her free will.

    The petition also sought protection against alleged harassment of the girl’s family. Underage girls in such cases in Pakistan come under intense pressure, including threats to them and their families, to give false statements in court.

    Azhar allegedly abducted Arzoo in Karachi’s Muhalla Railway Colony West Camp Road locality on Oct. 13, according to the family, which registered a kidnapping case on the same day. On Oct. 15 police summoned them to the local station and showed them documents claiming that Arzoo was 18 years old and had willingly converted to Islam after marrying Azhar.

  • Court orders police to recover teenage Christian bride Arzoo Raja

    Court orders police to recover teenage Christian bride Arzoo Raja

    The Sindh High Court has asked the Karachi police to recover and produce Arzoo Raja — a teenage Christian girl allegedly abducted and forced to marry a man thrice her age after conversion to Islam– in the court on Nov 5.

    Sindh Chief Minister’s spokesperson Murtaza Wahab confirmed this development. He said the high court ordered the police to recover the teenage girl in response to an application filed by the SHC. The girl is supposed to located within five days and then moved to a shelter home, he tweeted.

    The CASE:

    On Oct 27, a two-member bench of SHC had admitted a petition filed on behalf of Arzoo Raja that claimed that she was 18 years old and had married Ali Azhar and converted to Islam with her free will, according to a report in Newsday Pakistan.

    The petition also sought protection against alleged harassment of the girl’s family. Underage girls in such cases in Pakistan come under intense pressure, including threats to them and their families, to give false statements in court.

    Azhar allegedly abducted Arzoo in Karachi’s Muhalla Railway Colony West Camp Road locality on Oct. 13, according to the family, which registered a kidnapping case on the same day. On Oct. 15 police summoned them to the local station and showed them documents claiming that Arzoo was 18 years old and had willingly converted to Islam after marrying Azhar.

  • Forced conversions

    Forced conversions

    According to her parents, a 13-year old Christian girl Arzoo Raja was abducted by a man in his 40s, forcefully converted to Islam and then married to him. Then a local court dismissed the plea moved by her family to send her to a shelter home so that she was released from the custody of her older Muslim spouse. The court said that Arzoo Raja accepted Islam willingly and she told them that she was not abducted and was not forced to marry the 44-year-old.

    Even if the girl says she was not forced to convert to Islam and did it wilfully, how is child marriage being allowed? The husband says she is 18 and so does she in an affidavit but NADRA records show she was born in 2007. Her marriage certificate does not mention her age or details of her CNIC. A medical certificate needed to prove a person is 18 was not provided either. Legal experts say that child marriage is a very integral part of forced conversions. They say that the law against child marriage is inadequate. Some believe that all child marriages should be prohibited and declared invalid but legal age of girls is something that many religious leaders do not agree with.

    The National Commission for Minorities has finalised a draft law to curb forced conversions but the law will be finalised only after consultations with the provinces and the leaders of all schools of thought. Senate Committee on Minorities’ Rights led by Senator Anwarul Haq Kakar is also working on the issue of forced conversions by getting all stakeholders, from minorities to religious leaders, on board.

    Forced conversion of Hindu girls in Sindh is an issue that has been highlighted a lot. Minorities’ representatives say that why is it that only their girls are converted and not men. But in some cases, the conversions are not forced. They are be due to economic reasons or to get away from families but the tool to justify these conversions is consent. “Why is it that mainstream religious parties are never involved in conversion of girls from minority communities and only fringe groups like Mian Mithu’s, etc?” a parliamentarian questioned while speaking to The Current. They said that administrative laxity, if turned to agility, can decrease the cases of forced conversions.

    Despite laws, their implementation is more important. We hope the courts will not give a stamp of approval to child marriages and forced conversions. Minorities are as much citizens of Pakistan as the Muslims.