Hindu and Women: Pooja’s Murder Awaits Justice

Not a day goes by that the country hears about a woman being killed mercilessly. It is the dark reality of this patriarchal society where a woman is expected to be subservient and assimilate to the conditions that are deemed acceptable by it. The ones who rebel, more often than not, end up losing their lives. Their murders are justified by bringing in the old tales of honor because that somehow sits well with a large segment of society as acceptable grounds for murder. Pooja Kumari is one such young girl who was killed in the broad daylight, yet somehow, was blamed for her killing.

Pooja (18), a quick-witted teenager lived in Rohri, Sindh with her family. She was the eldest of five children. Pooja was from the Oad community (Historically, Oad has been known as a low-caste Hindu community and was designated as such in 1956 by the government of Pakistan.) She was well aware of her position in society and knew very well the limitation of the privileges that were extended to her. Being a minority in Pakistan comes with its fair share of challenges, and being a low-caste within the Hindu community brings with it an additional layer of trials, tribulations, and discrimination.

There is little to no possibility of upward mobility in her community as most of them are daily wagers in the construction sector. The financial conditions and rising expenditures of a large family were not lost on Pooja as she also had to work as a professional seamstress in a small setup within her home to contribute to the household expenses and look after her four younger siblings while her parents were away to work as daily wagers.

Pooja was her parent’s support system, and they were brutally stripped of that support on March 21, 2022, when she was mercilessly murdered. What is even worse is that instead of focusing on extending her speedy justice – people have divulged in gossip and concocted stories regarding the reason for her murder. What they seem to be missing is that a woman was ruthlessly murdered in a broad daylight and the murderer walks free, instead, the focus is based entirely on the events that may have led to her death and whether or not she is to be blamed. Such an inhumane reaction goes to show the importance attached to giving Pooja the justice she deserves.

There are two different versions of events as reported, that led to Pooja’s murder, one side claims this to be an issue of forced conversion by an influential family, and the other version states the murder was a result of honor killing. Whatever the reason may have been – a young, innocent girl lost her life to the inhumane societal standards that insist on victim shaming. It does not matter what the reason was for her murder, what is of primal importance is that she gets her due justice. But highlighting the various ways her story is being spun to add confusion and divert the attention is worrying.

As per the version that presents itself as a case of honor killing – after a few hours of Pooja’s killing, the police announced that the murderer had been arrested and that the accused had admitted to his guilt. Two days later the murderer was presented to the judicial magistrate, where he outrightly denied the charges and stated Pooja was like a sister to him, and that her parents were trying to trap him by blaming him for murder. She was accused of being involved in two relationships simultaneously. There are also stories being spun around how the two people she was in a relationship with found out about each other, and that one of them murdered her out of sheer spite. This does not come as a surprise as in a patriarchal society like this, fragile masculinity comes to the forefront rather easily. With the little regard held for women in society, a young, unmarried girl, belonging to a minority group and on top of that coming from an underprivileged background gives an additional disadvantage to her position in society. They knew killing her would not matter as her status and position makes it easier to get away with murdering her.

When one of the waiters at the hotel near her home was enquired about the incident – he too stated that it was her engagement in multiple relationships that led to her demise.  According to him, she was of age to get married and was asked a hand in marriage, which she refused to accept and so was killed. The gossip surrounding her murder has made her devoid of justice so far as it has scarred her chances and built a narrative around stigmatizing her for being in relationships. Such character assassination has led to bias against her and a general sympathy changed into an acceptance that she was to blame for the outcome. Decisions at the Jirga are usually made that are deemed politically correct, a character assassination of the murdered woman does not garner much sympathy, coupled with the fact that they are mostly men from influential backgrounds – sympathizing with the woman of an allegedly ill reputation would not bode well for the jirga elders. Adding to that, Pooja’s religious and social standing put her at an additional disadvantage. It has also potentially robbed her of the monetary compensation the family may have received. So, relying on jirga to get her justice seems like a long shot. The police too are being blamed for their negligence to carry out a thorough investigation to bring the culprit to justice.

The other version of the events as narrated and presented largely in the media states Pooja was subjected to forced conversion and her resistance to it was the reason for her murder. As reported, a Muslim man from an influential family began harassing Pooja to convert her to Islam and marry her. Her refusal of this proposal resulted in an attempted abduction that ended up in murder. The reports state that the police had been made aware of this situation and they warned the murderer once, but that did not help. Pooja’s parents reached out to the influential feudal lords as well but to no avail. It was also stated that a Madrassah in the region facilitated the act of forced conversions, a charge the authorities at Madrassah vehemently denied.

The Sindh incident adds to a long list of atrocities against minorities, especially Hindus, in Pakistan. According to European Parliament, “the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan’s 2019 Report states that on average, more than 1000 forced conversions take place every year.” According to a 2020 Dawn report, “data from 2013 to 2020 show that the crime took place in all provinces and all minority communities.” “Data on 162 cases of conversion of minor girls from Punjab and Sindh showed that “at least 46 percent of the ‘converted’ females were below the age of 18, while the age of 37 percent was not mentioned. Only 16 percent of females were more than 18 years.”^[1] An attempt at passing the law against forced conversions by minority lawmakers has been rejected in the past. In October 2021, a parliamentary committee rejected one such bill after the Ministry of Religious Affairs opposed it. Political parties avoid raising this issue because they anticipate a backlash from religious seminaries.

It is irrelevant that whether it was a case of honor killing, revenge, or forced conversion, what is important here is that a woman was killed. Her murderers walk free today, while her family awaits justice. She was their hope; their lifeline and they have been stripped of that forever. Instead of being helped, the parents have had to bear the gossip surrounding their daughter, and her character assassination. Pooja should have been accorded speedy justice instead of being blamed for her murder or victim shamed. The overarching factors point to the fact that Pooja was a woman who belonged to a marginalized, minority segment of society. It is her gender and her social status that endangered her life by multiple folds. The men knew they could get away with murdering her as has been the case historically, and that is exactly what has happened again. There is still time to extend Pooja and her family justice by punishing the murderers and setting a tough precedent to discourage such events from happening again in the future. Every woman should have free will and be given the chance to exercise it. The state needs to ensure that they are protected, irrespective of their status and religion. The laws related to forced conversions need to be introduced with stringent repercussions. After all, it is the murderer who should have to carry the onus of the blame, never the victim.

[1] “Hindu Woman Killed in Pakistan after Refusal to Convert. People Want ‘Justice for Pooja’.” The Print, 22 Mar. 2022, https://theprint.in/go-to-pakistan/hindu-woman-killed-in-pakistan-after-refusal-to-convert-people-want-justice-for-pooja/883333/.