Pakistani Province First in Country to Recognize Hindu Marriages

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif (third from left) attends a memorial service for peasant leader
Fazil Rahoo. Sharif has made life difficult for religious minorities. Photo: Latif Rahoo | Wikimedia.

On Monday, February 15th, the southern Pakistani province of Sindh became the first in the country to legally recognize Hindu marriages. Pakistan, which is about 97% Muslim was formed in 1947 after the British pulled out of the Indian Subcontinent. While it was intended as a Muslim refuge, it was supposed to offer religious freedom to minorities, but hasn’t kept up that promise.

Christians, one of the larger minority groups in the country, have an old British law from 1870, which allows them to officially register their marriages, but Hindu marriages could not be registered, and that leaves a lot of Hindus in a bad place.

Without legal documentation it’s difficult for women to prove that they are married so they can be forced into marriages. Lack of a legal document allows some women to become targets for rape because they aren’t seen as following their prescribed roles in society. Widows of such marriages are hit especially hard. They can’t claim benefits they would otherwise be entitled to as widows.

The new law in Sindh can be applied retroactively, allowing already married Hindus to certify that relationship, as their Muslim neighbors do. This ruling gives many in the region hope that they can improve their standing in the country. The National Assembly is currently reviewing a similar bill, which would apply across the country.

Violence against minorities has been on the rise of late in Pakistan, and the conservative government doesn’t seem to be doing much about it. They don’t provide adequate protection for minorities, nor do they pursue action against those responsible for the attacks.

Many claim that the issue has gotten worse since 2013, when conservative Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif came to power. Since that time the U.S. Commission on Religious Freedom has reported that conditions for religious minorities there are at an all-time low.