It has been many decades of neglect and oppression for the Hindu community in Pakistan. They have faced considerable persecution and kidnappings have been routine. This has been particularly the case in Sindh province. The 1998 census records less than 2.5 million Hindus in Pakistan, the majority residing in Sindh. In this situation, news filtered last month that the community will soon have a marriage law. The National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Law and Justice in early February 2016 passed the final draft of Hindu Marriage Bill 2015. The bill was adopted unanimously after two amendments were made to fix the minimum age of the marrying male and female at 18 and making the law applicable to the whole of Pakistan. The National Assembly will now consider the Bill where it has a fair chance of being passed as the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party claims to support it.
Five Hindu lawmakers were specially invited to witness the passage of the bill in the Committee. As can be imagined, there has been considerable delay in the passage of this, not to mention delaying tactics by those opposed to giving Hindus a proper place in Pakistan. The Standing Committee Chairman Chaudhry Mahmood Bashir Virk expressed regret over the delay in framing family law for the Hindu community and said it was ‘unbecoming of Muslims and political leaders in Pakistan’. There had been objections to the passage of the bill by some members of the Committee. For instance, Shagufta Jumani of the Pakistan People’s Party and Ali Mohammad Khan of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf raised questions about the minimum age of a Hindu girl to be married. The other issue related to the status of marriage if any of the partners converted to Islam.
Dr. Ramesh Kumar Vankwani patron in-chief of the Pakistan Hindu Council, wanted the clause in the Bill which proposed that marriage would be nullified if any of the partners converted to Islam, dropped. It was inserted by the Council of Islamic Ideology when the Bill was sent for ‘Sharia vetting’ some time ago. His suggestion was met with stern resistance after which Committee Chairman stopped discussions to avoid “total collapse” of the meeting. Vankwani demanded the government remove the controversial clause in the draft Hindu Marriage Bill that calls for annulment of marriage if any of the spouses converts their religion, saying it can trigger forced conversions of minority community women. “The objectionable clause 11(iii) of the Hindu marriage bill can be used for forced conversions of Hindu girls and women. It states that a marriage could be terminated if either spouse converts to another religion,” he said.
Some Hindu leaders in Pakistan have raised the issue of the appropriateness of the Hindu Marriage Bill when the real question is that of forced conversions, especially in Sindh, where forced conversions have often been reported. In 2013, the Pakistan People’s Party Sindh had promised to present a bill on forced conversions but nothing has happened so far. Some activists in Sindh raise the question whether the Hindus need a Marriage Bill or a bill to prevent forced conversions.
Members of the Hindu community in Pakistan have differently reacted to the Standing Committee’s approval of the Marriage Bill. Ramesh Lal, PPP Member of National Assembly of Pakistan, supported the Hindu Marriage Bill claiming that it had at least been passed after decades of struggle. He said the Hindu Marriage Bill talked about the age of 18 being the minimum for age for marriage. He argued that the proposed minimum age would not apply to poor people as they often disregarded this dictum resulting in young girls being forcibly sent to kidnappers. Ramesh Lal emphasised that the Hindu community would find it difficult to accept the divorce clause also.
Others argue that the draft bill only mentioned the issue of marriage registration and not conversion. Lal Chand Malhi, of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, MNA agrees that the age of marriage being fixed at 18 is appropriate. Malhi however, claimed that he had been raising his voice against the annulment clause because it would encourage people who converted Hindu girls. He stated that was the reason Hindu organizations had been trying to remove this clause from Hindu Marriage Bill and expressed the hope that parliamentarians could help in the passage of a ‘just’ Hindu Marriage Bill. Malhi also said Hindu organizations had planned to introduce a bill on conversion and it was being worked on it. At the end of the day, all this is little solace for the Hindus in Pakistan who find that several decades after the creation of Pakistan, they find the possibility of a law that will allow them to live with dignity in that nation. Is this is too little too late?