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October 3, 2005
Pakistan: Christian Woman Raped In Muslim Conversion Attempt
This story appeared on Wednesday September 28, in Compass Direct and tells a tale which seems to be nowadays common in Pakistan. The following are claims from the court case. Earlier this month, 22 year old Riqba Masih was raped by three men who threatened to kill her if she did not convert to Islam. She testified at a court hearing that Ghulam Abbas and Mohammad Kashif drugged and kidnapped her on September 2, while visiting in the city of Faisal Abad with a Muslim girlfriend, Humaira Hussain.
Her "friend" arranged to meet the two men at a bus stop, where Riqba was given a drink of "water" which rendered her unconscious. She was taken 62 miles to Lahore where she was repeatedly raped throughout the night. The assailants threatened to kill her and her family if she did not convert to Islam. The following morning she was handed over to another man, who also raped her over the next three days, before returning her to a bus stop at Faisal Abad.
At the court hearing, Riqba Masih's lawyer, Khalil Tahir, asked for the case to be tried at an Anti-Terrorism Court, due to the pressure being brought to bear on the family. Riqba's six sisters have been forced to leave school because of taunts from classmates, who call them "prostitutes". The Masih family has been threatened by Muslim neighbours. Only one of the accused men appeared in court, Ghulam Abbas, who denied the charges. Tahir has taken statements from other neighbours who vreify the claims of intimidation made against the family.
This is one incident where the woman is brave enough to go to justice in this Muslim-dominated society. For many women, even Christians, the stigma of rape is seen as something to hide from. Whether Riqba Masih gets justice is, at this stage, unknown.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at October 3, 2005 5:34 PM
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