A 17-year-old Christian girl was murdered in
Pakistan after being tied down and strangled to death by a Muslim family before
her father's own eyes, reportedly because she didn't do the household chores to
their satisfaction.
Christians in Pakistan reported on Tuesday that
the murder of Kainat Salamat, daughter of Salamat Masih, occurred last week in
Kamonki, Gujranwala district.
Masih filed a First Information Report to report
the crime on May 6, explaining to police that he arrived to visit his daughter
at the home of Muhammad Asif, where she had worked as a domestic helper since
age 11.
The father says that he and another relative saw
that the Muslim family, Asif, Muhammad Kashif, Muhammad Tariq Pasran, Muhammad
Ismael, along with Asif's wife and another woman, were holding down Kainat's
legs and arms.
The Muslim family had tied a rope around the
Christian girl's neck and were strangling her. Despite her father's pleas, they
killed her in front of his eyes.
The father adds in the report that his daughter,
who was buried on Monday, was killed for failing to do the house cleaning
properly.
The British Pakistani Christian Association also
reported on the girl's death, revealing that her corpse was take to Civil
Hospital Gujranwala for a post-mortem study. There, doctors found evidence that
the teenager had suffered rape.
The BPCA is urging people to sign a petition
against domestic servitude of vulnerable Christian girls, which it says results
in widespread abuse and in some cases death. It added that Kainat had been
forced to work as a full-time servant 24 hours a day and live with the Muslim
family for years.
The group says that her Christian family placed
her in such work because of they live in poverty. The BPCA also reported that
the Christian family was encouraged by a Christian NGO to accept a legal bribe
of 700,000 rupees, which is equivalent to roughly $6,090, to drop the murder
and rape charges.
"Christian girls are too frequently placed
into domestic servitude contracts from ages as young as 10. Many of these girls
suffer cruel beatings and rape from depraved men and jealous wives," said
Wilson Chowdhry, chairman of the BPCA.
"Powerful Muslim families often settle out
of court by paying Qisas and Diyat bribes a legal 'get out of jail' payment
that is enshrined in Sharia law and adopted in Pakistan," he added,
insisting that the family should have chosen to bring the attackers to justice
instead.
Pakistani Christian women are often vulnerable to
abuse and attacks, particularly when it comes to rejecting marriage proposals.
In April, a 21-year-old Christian who was set on fire after rejecting such a
proposal from a Muslim man died in hospital from her injuries.
Asma Yaqoob from the Punjab city of Sialkot
suffered burns to 90 percent of her body. A Muslim man was subsequently
arrested and confessed to the crime.
