Pakistani Dalit Hindus demand marriage registration

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Karachi: July 11, 2011. (PCP) Pakistan is home to 34 Lakh schedule caste Hindus also known as Dalits; a minority of 0.25% in a nation of mainly Muslim inhabitants.

According to the 1998 census upper caste Hindus are just over 2.1 million though these figures are contested by the representatives of the lower caste Hindus as they believe that discrimination and the state’s denial of their problems begins with numbers and estimates that the population of lower caste Hindus is more than two million. For Hindu families, lack of marriage registration mechanism is a matter of serious concern. As shared by them, lack of NIC and marriage registration has resulted in many domestic, social and psychological problems for the Hindu families, especially women and girls. Hindu married couples face numerous problems in travelling and lodging outside of their place of residence. Due to an absence of NIC and marriage registration mechanism, Scheduled Caste Hindu women do not get any share in their husbands’ property, and their access to health facilities and participation in social, economic and political processes is also minimal. According to them, for years Hindu women have been forcibly converted to Islam and married to Muslim men while they were already married to a Hindu. Since there is no documentation to prove the earlier marriage, the woman’s husband or families are unable to take up the issue on legal grounds. Ramesh Mal Provincial Coordinator highlighted that the same press conference was done two months ago and thousands of letters were sent to the Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani during this time but no one is listening to us also 8 Minority MNAs from Hindu Community does not represent and raise our issues. Anita Wadhani from Mirpur Khas spoke about the lack of identity card due to the absence of marriage registration though it was instructed by the Supreme Court of Pakistan. When we are travelling police stops us and humiliate us due to the absence of documentary proof of our marriages. Naina Ji shared the miseries of the women faced by their communities as they are forcibly converted to Islam and there is no protection mechanism available to them in case of divorce and death of husband. shared her story of agony when her cousin was kicked out from her in-laws house after the death of her husband and their was no way of getting compensations for her children from the court.

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"Trial of Pakistani Christian Nation" By Nazir S Bhatti

On demand of our readers, I have decided to release E-Book version of "Trial of Pakistani Christian Nation" on website of PCP which can also be viewed on website of Pakistan Christian Congress www.pakistanchristiancongress.org . You can read chapter wise by clicking tab on left handside of PDF format of E-Book.

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