Chanda Maharaj (also named Chanda Kumari), a minor Hindu girl from Pakistan whose case of abduction, forced conversion and marriage came into limelight around two years ago is said to have been killed, according to reports by minority rights activist in Pakistan, Mr. Shiva Kacchi (Tweet archived here).
He wrote in a social media post that Chanda Maharaj’s mother and sisters informed the Chairman of Darawer itehad Pakistan, a minority rights organization in Pakistan a few days ago about her brutal murder. Reportedly, Chanda Maharaj was arriving to Hyderabad from Shaman Magsi’s house in Karachi where Chanda was again forcibly taken and killed by the abductor Shaman Magsi. He called for Sindh and Hyderabad police officials to take notice and conduct a full investigation into the matter.
Brutal story of resistance and abuse of Chanda Maharaj
In August 2022, Chanda Maharaj, a 13-year-old Hindu girl, was forcibly abducted in the Fateh Chowk area of Hyderabad, Sindh, Pakistan, while on her way back home from the mill area of Fateh Chowk. According to her father Ammar and her sisters, she was taken by people riding in a white car, including Muslim Shaman Magsi, who had been regularly harassing her.
A complaint was filed with the police, but no action was taken. Her distraught mother made a heart-rending appeal for her daughter’s return, but her fate remained unknown for some time. Activist group Voice of Sindh lodged an FIR with the police, but the SSP Hyderabad did not take action. It wasn’t until an international outcry that the police finally rescued Chanda.
Chanda was finally recovered two months later from her Muslim abductors and had a tearful reunion with her family. It is important for people to see the fear and pain writ large on the minor’s face to see the truth being hidden by Islamofascists of Pakistan.
Rescued and then again abducted
The poor child’s ordeal showed no sign of ending after supposedly being rescued. The frightened and distressed girl was forced to appear in a Sindh court to record her statement before a magistrate. The Islamic-controlled government court decided to send her for a medical examination to ‘determine her age.’ She was then sent to a ‘shelter home’ and not allowed to return to her own family home.
There were even disturbing reports that Chanda was gang-raped and possibly even kept in Balochistan for some time. The Muslim abductor produced fake conversion and marriage certificates, hinting at the involvement of a well-oiled nexus. After some time in the shelter, authorities reportedly handed the abused child back to her abductor, leaving her family in shock and despair. Her parents do not know where she is nor whether she is alive or has been killed.
Chanda Maharaj’s story serves as a tragic reminder of the continued struggle of non-Muslim minorities, particularly women and girls, for basic human rights in Islamic Pakistan.
According to a recent report from the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), around 1,000 women each year are abducted, sexually abused, and converted to Islam in Pakistan. These atrocities have been continuing for decades, and the victims of these crimes are often young girls between the ages of 12 and 17. They are abducted, married off to much older men, and forbidden from ever returning to their families.
Given this inaction, international pressure on Pakistan is crucial in ending this abuse. Without external motivation, it is unlikely that the Pakistani government will heed the calls of minority leaders and civil society to take action against child abductions, sexual harassment and conversions.
