Pakistan: Muslim Rapist Demands Custody of Hindu Minor Who ‘Converted to Islam’ During Rape
May 8, 2021 1:00 pm By Ashlyn Davis
Abduction of girls from religious minorities, putting them through cycles of mass rapes and forcing them to embrace Islam is not a new spectacle in Pakistan. What changes is the intensity of the violence and institutionalized deception minorities are made to endure, often with the state’s acknowledgement, in the Islamic country.
The latest victim of Pakistan’s time-tested practice of abduct-rape-convert is Leylan Kohli, a minor Hindu girl. In a video shared widely on social media, the rescued victim alleges that she was abducted and mass-raped for four days by a Muslim named Mohammad Tanveer and his accomplices. The ghastly incident took place in the Sindh province of Pakistan, allegedly in Kot Ghulam Muhammad. Appallingly, the police have neither filed a case nor taken any action against the miscreants.
The horror for this Hindu family is far from over. While the rapists are moving about freely, Leylan and her family are living in the constant danger of being attacked by the perpetrators. The culprits demand that Laylen be handed over to them. They assert that she recited the Kalima during her rape, and by virtue of having done so, she is now a converted Muslim. She thus cannot return and live with her “kafir” family.
Kalima is collective name for the six Islamic phrases that reflect the foundational beliefs of Islam, including the Islamic profession of faith. They are taught and recited reverently by Muslims in South Asian countries. When someone converts from another religion to Islam, he or she is made to recite these phrases.
As per reports, while raping the minor, one of the accused thought it would be a good idea to carry out dawah (Islamic proselytization) on her concurrently, and forced her to recite the religious phrases. So now, by the virtue of reciting these supposedly holy and divine words while being molested, Leylan is a Muslim. She must relinquish all ties with her family and be given over to those who abducted her and put her through a prolonged painful and atrocious experience.
Among the many dangers that lurk for this child and her hapless family, one is that a powerful mullah (Muslim cleric) will be brought onto the scene and order that the girl be taken away from her family. Having “converted” to the one true faith of Islam, Leylan cannot go back to Hinduism, “a false religion,” because that would be considered apostasy, which invites a death sentence, as per Sharia rules. Who would want to take chances with death?
Girls from the minority community who were abducted and molested by Muslim men in Pakistan have rarely been given justice; their perpetrators have often gone scot-free. The lives of such girls and their families turn hellish. It would not be incorrect to say that they pay the penalty for the wrongs done to them. There is no worldwide condemnation, because global institutions are busy painting a picture of “poor, oppressed Muslims” for the world to see and sympathize with.
It is doubtful that the Pakistani system will rescue this girl. What is worse is the possibility of her being taken to some kind of women’s rehabilitation centre while the authorities “investigate” the crime. Reportedly, victims are not allowed to meet their families once they are taken to such homes, and are further threatened with dire consequences. The only option presented to them is that they state that their conversion was consensual, or else they will be put through more violence. Traumatized and scared, they admit to the rapist’s version of the story in court. 12-year-old Kajal Bheel from Sindh, Pakistan, among others, has lived through this nightmare.
With the odds of any kind of legal relief for Leylan and her family appearing slim, at very least they desire to be left alone. Let the child live with her family after undergoing a traumatic experience that has scarred her for life.