Forced conversions

On Thursday, Sindh did Pakistan proud. The provincial assembly spoke with one voice, resoundingly and with conviction, for minority communities living in Sindh when it unanimously passed a law criminalising forced conversions.

Tabled last year by a PML-F lawmaker, Nand Kumar Goklani as a private bill, the Criminal Law (Protection of Minorities) Act, 2015 stipulates a sentence of between five years and life imprisonment for those found guilty of forcible conversion, along with a fine to be paid to the victim.

Anyone who performs or facilitates the marriage of a victim of forced conversion is liable to a three-year prison term as well as a fine payable to the victim. Where forced conversion is alleged, the victims will be given 21 days by the court to arrive at an independent decision regarding their change of faith before action under this law is initiated. And a change of religion by minors will not be recognised until they reach the age of majority.

Although the Constitution guarantees the right to freedom of religion, the situation demanded the passage of such a law. Forced conversions have long been an unfortunate reality here, an inevitable consequence of the ideological narrative that has pervaded the public space over the past few decades.

In such an environment, it is difficult, even risky, to argue that compelling a person to change their faith through duress or pressure, whether physical, emotional or psychological, is immoral and unethical.

For the same reason, forced conversions are almost impossible to reverse: if victims assert their adherence to their original faith, it can attract accusations of apostasy and leave them vulnerable to religious vigilantism.

Human rights organisations estimate that around 1,000 women and young girls — largely from Hindu and Christian families, in Sindh and Punjab respectively — are forcibly converted every year after being kidnapped, and then married to Muslims, often the abductors themselves.

While it is admittedly not always easy to determine if a conversion is forced or whether the individual has taken the step of their own volition, a law such as the one recently passed addresses the circumstances in which forced conversions usually happen and ends the impunity with which the perpetrators practise it. Unlike many other laws that address social ills, it should also be comparatively easier to implement.

However, this progressive legislation will almost certainly draw the ire of self-appointed guardians of the faith, the same lobby that creates an intimidating atmosphere in courtrooms where families of women and young girls allegedly converted by force seek justice for their loved ones.

Not only should the lawmakers hold their ground, but other provinces should follow suit. By signalling so decisively to the nation that coercion in matters of faith is unacceptable, Sindh has laid down a framework that can enable us to be a better people.

Iraqi massacre

AS the militant Islamic State group gets pounded on the battlefield, it has resorted to a familiar tactic: the mass slaughter of civilians. On Thursday, around 100 pilgrims returning from Arbaeen — as Imam Hussain’s chehlum is also known — in Karbala were killed as a massive truck bomb ploughed into buses in the Iraqi town of Hilla. Most of the victims were reportedly Iranian. Between 17 million and 20 million people had gathered in Iraq over the past few weeks to march to Karbala for Arbaeen. Protecting this mass gathering of humanity was indeed a challenge for the Iraqi forces; around 25,000 troops had been dispatched to Karbala for security. However, while the administration managed to protect the holy city, the terrorists struck a relatively more vulnerable spot. Some commentators have said the Hilla attack could be a diversionary tactic to take attention away from Mosul, where the Iraqis are leading the operation to liberate this key city from IS clutches. The Iranians are playing a major role in assisting Iraqi forces, which is why, in its claim of responsibility, IS boasted it had targeted Iranians. Another major motivation for the attack is, of course, the rabidly sectarian nature of IS. Earlier this year, after the Iraqi government had freed Fallujah from IS’s grip, the terrorist outfit carried out a devastating bombing targeting a market in Baghdad’s Karrada area. Over 340 people were killed in that atrocity in July.

For Iraq to turn the page on it recent blood-soaked history, it is essential to ensure that IS does not have any space to operate from in the country. In order to prevent more horrific loss of life, the Mosul operation must be taken to a successful conclusion; the administration must remain on guard as IS has pledged to carry out more attacks on Baghdad, Karbala and Najaf. In the aftermath of the Hilla tragedy, Iranian President Rouhani has called for an “all-out fight” against terrorism. Indeed, this is a call that all countries in the region should support. However, for such a fight to be successful, the Syrian quagmire needs to be resolved, as it has become a magnet for extremist fighters. Naive as it may sound in this world of cunning geopolitics, regional countries as well as global powers must put aside their political differences and concentrate on the defeat of IS for the security of the entire region.

Tobacco menace

DESPITE the passage of laws such as a ban on smoking at public places, ridding Pakistani society of this nuisance has proved difficult. Ensure success in one place — for instance, smoking rooms have disappeared from major airports — and the menace pops up somewhere else. The latest trend in this regard was pointed out in Islamabad on Thursday, when the Network for Consumer Protection launched its report Monitoring of Tobacco Advertising, Promotion, Sponsorship and Point of Sale Advertising. Compiled after a survey conducted around schools in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Lahore, Karachi and Quetta, the report said that multinational cigarette manufacturing companies are now targeting children as young as six. This is being done by placing advertisements and products in shops around educational institutions. Some 83pc of the shops surveyed had cigarettes displayed behind cash counters, 50pc had placed cigarettes alongside candies and snacks, and 14pc were even offering incentives such as limited time offers or free gift on purchase. Yet the most worrying violation was that 89pc of the shops do not display the ‘no sale to minors’ signage mandated by the law.

Behind these numbers is a serious, ongoing healthcare crisis. Time and again, around the world, it has been shown that the best way to reduce the incidence of smoking is to ensure that new generations are not attracted to the habit or held hostage by it. But even a cursory glance at marketplaces around the country shows that very little effort is being made to shield youngsters from the dangerous habit — in fact, the sale of cigarettes is rampant. Tobacco is big business, and taxing the sector heavily around the world has been employed as a method to discourage its consumption. But that in itself has given the tobacco lobby the means to put pressure on governments, Pakistan being no exception. Urgently needed is not just enforcement of the law and sustained awareness-raising campaigns, but also higher taxes with strong political backing.

Published in Dawn, November 26th, 2016