Christian mother of three 'kidnapped, forced into Islamic marriage'

oge okonkwo

July 30, 2015 4:47 PM

Her family say Fouzia Sadiq was taken by her Muslim landlord - Muhammed Nazir - whose brother promised at the time that Sadiq would be returned shortly

A Christian mother of three children living in Pakistan has been abducted and forced into an Islamic marriage.

The family of Fouzia Sadiq say police have so far refused to file a report on their missing daughter.

According to some Christian campaigners, Fouzia Sadiq was abducted from the field where she worked as a bonded labourer on July 23.

Her family say that she was taken by her Muslim landlord - Muhammed Nazir - whose brother promised at the time that Sadiq would be returned shortly.

However, after returning for their daughter on July 24, they were told that Sadiq had converted to Islam and was now the property of Nazir, whom she had married.

According to Christian Today, an officer for the British Pakistani Christian Association (BPCA), has met the family and they will now be moved to a safe house. They say police are refusing to register the incident.

"My sister has been missing for five days and police are refusing to register an FIR [First Incident Report], my heart is broken," Sadiq's sister, Iqra, said.

"Our landlord is a cruel man and we have been starving since he stopped the little payment that was due to us. We have no power and have to face such injustice."

According to the BPCA, incidents of abduction, forced marriage and forced conversion are commonplace. A report from the Karachi-based Aurat Foundation released late last year claimed that between 100 and 700 Christian girls, and around 300 Hindu girls, are married forcibly each year and forced to convert to Islam.

Director of the Aurat Foundation, Mahnaz Rehman, told Fides news agency that incidents are largely ignored by police and civil authorities.

oge okonkwo