Pakistan: Over 700 Christian women abducted, forcibly married and converted to Islam each year

More than 700 young Christian women are abducted, compelled to marry Muslims and to convert to Islam each year in Pakistan.  Many others are not included in this estimate because no complaint is filed about their abduction.  This was reported to the French news agency Fides by local sources involved in the fight against these violent acts.  Currently a campaign is being launched concerning the case of Farah Hatim, a young Catholic woman who was abducted, converted and forced to contract an Islamic marriage in the city of Rahim Yar Khan, to the south of Punjab (in Eastern Pakistan).  Activists are in the process of mobilizing the Christian community of the country and of civil society so as to raise consciousness in the institutions.  The Farah case has already gone international, since the Canadian Congress is informed about the affair and is currently supporting a diplomatic initiative by the Canadian government directed toward the Pakistani government.  In Italy, several members of parliament likewise intend to bring the affair to the attention of Italian and European institutions.  (Sources: apic/fides – DICI no. 237 dated June 25, 2011)