Christians are seeing a glimmer of hope in Pakistan these days.
Following the sentencing to death of five Muslims who brutally murdered a Christian couple by tossing them into a kiln, Pakistani lawmakers in the state of Sindh passed a law criminalising forced religious conversions, particularly forced conversion of Christians to Islam.
The Sindh Criminal Law (Protection of Minorities) Bill of 2015 punishes a person who forcibly converts another person belonging to a religious minority with a prison sentence of up to five years, and up to three years for those who facilitate such conversion, the Express Tribune reported.
"Unequivocally, it is a great step taken by the Sindh government to protect the religious minorities."
Nasir Saeed, the director of a U.K.-based group, the Centre for Legal Aid, Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS), lauded the passage of the law, calling it a "great step" to protect Christians in Pakistan, according to The Christian Post.
He said the law will not only reduce cases of forced conversions to Islam but also "build confidence and a sense of security among the religious minorities."
"Forced conversion is an abhorrent and violent offence and an issue that has become prevalent across Sindh [that] must be eliminated by recognising the importance of tolerance, peace and respect for all religions and persons, irrespective of their religion," the bill reads.
Around 700 Christian women are forced to embrace Islam every year, according to the Movement for Solidarity and Peace.
"The police do not normally take action in such cases, fearing the reaction and pressure from the Muslim community, but now they will have to take action," Saeed said.
CLAAS said some Muslim religious leaders force Christian women to convert by pressuring and threatening them with physical, emotional or psychological harm.
The group, which works for the persecuted Christians and other minorities in Pakistan, is calling on other states in Pakistan to likewise pass an anti-religious conversion law, noting that a Pakistani Senate panel declared forced conversion to Islam "un-Islamic" in June.
