Rape of Christians ‘is an instrument of subjugation’

Following the rape of a 12-year-old Christian girl in Lahore, a lawyer supporting her family has pointed out that in Pakistan “rape is used as an instrument of arbitrary power over Christian girls from poor backgrounds”.

The family of Muqadas Masih is being assisted by Christian lawyer Sardar Mushtaq Gill of the Lahore-based non-governmental organisation LEAD, which provides legal aid to religious minorities. Mr Gill said this week that although the family has been put under pressure since the 2 August rape to withdraw the complaint filed with Lahore police, “we will do everything so that this violence does not go unpunished”. “In Pakistan, rape is a violence that seeks to enforce and demonstrate submission to Muslims,” he said. Mr Gill’s view is supported by Peter Jacob, former executive director of Pakistan’s National Commission for Justice and Peace. He told The Tablet this week that the case is part of a pattern of crimes where girls’ rights are abused, “especially those in smaller religious groups” and called for “effective,  autonomous  human rights institutions”.

The rape is the latest in a line of similar attacks. Ms Masih, a maid for a middle-class Muslim family, was kidnapped by a gang on her way home from work and raped by two men.