Farah’s struggle
A Catholic girl living in Pakistan who was allegedly kidnapped, raped and forced into an Islamic marriage has given up her freedom after deciding she could not take the pressure of a High Court trial.
Amid claims by human rights groups that Farah Hatim had received death threats against herself and her family, she told the court, when asked if she had been kidnapped, that, ‘I went of my own will’.
The judge ruled she must return to her ‘new family’, where she will now live. An eye-witness stated that Hatim ‘broke into tears’ following the judge’s ruling, and was only given a few moments to meet with her family.
The case has been taken up by the Justice and Peace Commission (JPC) and the Catholic Church in the country, who condemned the act and demanded action for this ‘violation of human rights’.
A spokesperson for the JPC said, ‘Her “husband” tried to force her into prostitution, but she refused. The decision by the girl not to speak out is possibly because she is pregnant and fears her family will be killed if she tries to go back to them’.
