Three girls illegally detained by their employers were forced to testify that they had converted to Islam and wished to return to their captors, but a judge in Pakistan returned them to their Christian parents, sources said.
Justice Shakil Ahmed of the Lahore High Court on Thursday (Aug. 15), allowed the sisters, ages 9, 13 and 16, to retract their forced claims and gave custody of them back to their parents, Naveed Masih and wife Mina Naveed, brick kiln workers in Kasur District, Punjab Province, said Katherine Sapna, executive director of legal advocacy group Christians True Spirit.
The couple had sent their daughters to a Muslim woman, Haleema Bibi, in September 2023 for placement as domestic workers, but soon Bibi told them that employers were demanding 300,000 rupees (1,077 USD) as a "security deposit" to return their oldest daughter, Sapna said.
Sapna and the parents were allowed to speak with their daughters after they testified that they wished to return to their Muslim captors.
"When the girls felt a bit relaxed, they told us that Haleema and their employers had forced them to tell the court that they had converted willfully and wanted to return to their newfound Muslim families," Sapna told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News.
Sapna said that the girls told them that all three employers had used the same strategy to thwart the parents' efforts to recover them.
"It's quite possible that Haleema gave this idea to the employers," Sapna said. "This trend of using religious conversion as a tool for bonded labor is increasing, particularly in the brick kiln industry in Punjab."
Poverty had forced the parents to send their daughters, 16-year-old Hina Naveed, 13-year-old Neha Naveed and 9-year-old Mehru Naveed, to Bibi, said their mother, Mina Naveed. She said Bibi had found employment for several Christian children of New Abadi, Chak No. 68 village in Pattok Tehsil. Bibi works on commission and acts as a contact between the families and the employers.
"Haleema assured us that they would be placed in good homes, and we believed her," Mina Naveed said. "Most of the kiln workers send their children to work in homes to supplement their income. Only then can one manage to feed the family, especially if it's a big one."
Her youngest daughter, 5, fell ill in July, so she called Bibi to return their oldest daughter to care for her as it was very difficult for them to obtain days off from the kiln, she said. Mina Naveed asked Bibi to request Hina's employers to give her a 10-day leave so that she could take care of her ill sister.
"After a couple of days, Haleema told us that Hina's employers were demanding 300,000 rupees as a 'security deposit' to return the girl," she said. "We were shocked to hear this absurd demand and refused to accept it. When we insisted on Hina's unconditional return, Haleema started threatening us with legal consequences."
Mina Naveed said that after seeing Bibi's attitude, she demanded that all three of her daughters be returned to her immediately.
"But she bluntly refused to do so, saying that all three girls had converted to Islam and could not be given to their Christian parents," she said.
With help from CTS, the couple filed a petition in the Lahore High Court for the recovery of their daughters from illegal detention.
"The entire courtroom was shocked when the girls said that they were Muslims and didn't want to go with their parents," Sapna said. "It was a sensitive case, and we laud Justice Ahmed for making the right decision. He gave the parents sufficient time to talk to the children, and they [the parents] succeeded in convincing them [to retract their statements]."
The oldest daughter, Hina, said that her Muslim employer, Madiha Sameer, had told her that converting to Islam was the only way to save herself from her family.
"She brain-washed me into believing that my father would do horrible things to me if I went back," Hina told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News. "She said he would send me to Dubai as a sex worker or could even sell my body organs for money."
Hina said that Sameer mistreated her during her employment at her home.
"Baji [Madiha Sameer] used to beat me also, and the entire time I was there she made me sit on the floor to have my meals," she said.
Her younger sisters had similar experiences.
"My employer, Uzma Faisal, pressured me to tell the court that I had accepted Islam and wanted to live with her," Neha told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News. "She too portrayed a very negative image of my parents."
Mehru, the youngest daughter, said she was very happy to be back with her family.
Sapna said CTS is helping the girls to rebuild their lives.
The court refrained from ordering legal action against Bibi and the three Muslim families for attempting to forcibly convert the girls to Islam. According to the court order, the judge disposed of the petition after the girls "expressed their desire to join their father/petitioner."
Pakistan ranked seventh on Open Doors' 2024 World Watch List of the most difficult places to be a Christian, as it was the previous year.
