Pakistan an 'alarming example' of abuse and discrimination against minorities: Report

Islamabad, Aug 25 (IANS) Pakistan has emerged as one of the most radical and alarming cases among the Muslim countries in terms of discrimination against non-Muslim children, particularly Hindus and Christians, a report cited on Monday.

It stated that minority children in Pakistan are subjected to systematic abuse and discrimination, which includes barriers to education, abductions, incidents of child marriages, child labour, discrimination in public services and forced conversions to Islam.

"A new report by Pakistan's National Commission on the Rights of the Child (NCRC) highlights the severe challenges faced by children who belong to religious minority groups. It calls for immediate action by the government to curb the high levels of discrimination emanating from systemic bias, social exclusion, and institutional neglect," a report in Front Page Magazine detailed.

According to the report, a study titled 'Situation Analysis of Children from Minority Religions in Pakistan' highlighted the crucial issues of forced conversion, child marriages, and child labour faced by minority children.

"The worrying trend of systemic discrimination affects every part of the minority population's daily life, especially their children. Minority children frequently face discrimination from classmates and educators in schools. They also have to deal with curricula that could reinforce negative preconceptions about their religion. Isolation, below-average academic achievement, and, in many cases, school dropout are the expected outcomes of such an educational setting," it emphasised.

The report asserted that abduction and sexual violence of religious minorities remain widespread across Pakistan. The Movement for Solidarity and Peace estimated that as many as 1,000 Christian and Hindu children and young women are abducted by Muslim men each year.

However, these figures are considered relatively low in estimate because the fear of retaliation and risk of social stigma discourage many Christian and Hindu families in Pakistan from reporting such incidents.

"Yet, the number of Hindu and Christian girls abducted, abused, and forcefully converted to Islam with the law’s consent is also growing. Minority women and girls as young as seven - primarily from poor families and including girls with physical disabilities - are abducted and raped, including gang-raped, by Muslim men. They are forced to marry their abductor and are converted by force. Some are trafficked into slave labour and the sex trade," the report stated.

"The West must finally acknowledge the cruelty of the Islamic Pakistani culture and stop enabling its barbaric regime,” the report noted.

--IANS

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