LAHORE (UCAN): A Pakistani high court ordered the constitution of a medical board to determine the age of Arzoo Raja, a teenage Catholic girl, who was allegedly abducted, forcibly converted to Islam and married off to Ali Azhar, a 44-year-old Muslim man (Sunday Examiner, November 8).
The order came on November 5 after Raja appeared before Sindh High Court, where she insisted that she had married of her own free will and that she was 18-years-old. However, her parents maintained that she was only 13 and a victim of forced religious conversion and manipulation.
The judge, K.K. Agha, noted that the documents produced in court show that Raja was below the legal marriagiable age of 18 and, under the law, she cannot contract a marriage.
Jibran Nasir, the counsel for the girl’s parents, said the court ordered a medical board to determine her age before the next hearing on November 9.
The court also directed police to keep the girl at a shelter home.
Rita Raja said her daughter was not 18 telling the media, “I have documents to prove it and everyone knows her age. You can look at her face and see for yourself how innocent-looking she is.”
Father Saleh Diego, diocesan director of the National Commission for Justice and Peace and vicar general of the Archdiocese of Karachi, told reporters that “our only demand is that we cannot accept injustice.”
“As per the law, only those who are 18 or above are entitled to contract marriage. Anyone below this age is not permitted,” he said.
“We have no objection to her religious conversion. This is her personal decision. But her marriage is unlawful and that is why we are protesting,” he said.
Only three days earlier on November 3, social media buzzed with excitement after police recovered Raja.
Her parents said she was kidnapped on October 13 while playing outside her home in Karachi. Her family broke the news of her recovery in a video message before leaving for a reunion with their daughter at a police station on the evening of November 2.
Azhar was arrested hours after Sindh High Court on November 2 ordered that the child bride be produced before it later this week. His two brothers, both police constables, and a friend were also detained for aiding a forceful marriage. Raja has was placed the custody of policewomen.
The judge also directed police to determine her age, the legality of her marriage status and investigate claims that she had converted to Islam according to her own free will.
Catholic bishops and diocesan commissions protested while beleaguered activists condemned the provincial court for validating the marriage last week. Both the federal and Sindh government later pursued the case as #JusticeForArzoo kept trending.
Nasir, criticised the legal fraternity for supporting the kidnappers.
“A group of lawyers wrongfully verify the age of child brides and betray the trust of the bench. Others are interested in foreign funding and photo sessions,” he said, citing the Sindh Child Marriage Restraint Act 2014 that punishes contractors of child marriage with up to three years’ imprisonment.
“With combined pressure from both governments, this case can become ground for formulating a joint policy for the rights of our children. Arzoo is not a poster child for such violations. Delayed justice and rampant facilitators of faith conversion are a cancer in our society,” Nasir said.
“Judges in trial courts can be sensitised about laws. The burden of recitation of Kalma, the Islamic proclamation of faith, is considered too heavy. Nobody wants to displease Allah. Kalma doesn’t make rape halal or permissible according to Islamic law. This is blasphemy,” he said.
“Nobody calls the parents unless the news becomes viral on Twitter. Later the politicians swarm their house for photo sessions for superficial politics and morality,” Nasire lamented.
