Christian girl in Pakistan charged with theft after evading rape
By Christian Daily International / Morning Star News | December 10, 2024 10:58 EST
A Muslim businessman in Pakistan has falsely charged a 15-year-old Christian girl and two of her relatives with theft in retaliation for leaving his employ following his attempt to rape her, her father said.
Javed Masih, a Catholic vegetable vendor in Dera Usman area of Okara District, Punjab Province, said that his daughter, Muskaan Javed, worked as a maid in the house of Muhammad Kamran Haider.
“Haider attacked my daughter on Oct. 17 when his wife and children were not at home,” Masih told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News. “Fortunately for us, timely arrival of my wife, Nasira Bibi, at his house saved Muskaan from getting raped.”
He said that Muskaan was in a state of shock when she came out of the house, tears flowing down her cheeks.
“Upon inquiring, Muskaan told Nasira that Haider had attempted to sexually assault her, taking advantage of being alone in the house. My wife was shocked to hear this, but instead of confronting Haider at that time, she decided to first inform me about the incident,” Masih said. “Muskaan told us that Haider had made sexual advances and harassed her from the time she began working in his house in September, but she was too scared to tell us.”
Masih said he and local elders went to Haider’s house, and that the Muslim admitted the attempted rape and apologized, pleading with them not to go to police.
“Following his apology, the elders pressured me to pardon him, telling me that pursuing the matter would only bring dishonor to my family and compromise my daughter’s reputation,” Masih said. “Fears for Muskaan’s future forced me to surrender to their demand.”
Masih said that his daughter stopped working for Haider, who then on Nov. 16 registered a case with police alleging that she had stolen gold jewelry worth 1 million rupees ($3,583 USD) from his house during her employment.
“He has also named me and my son in the First Information Report [FIR], alleging that we had confessed to Muskaan’s crime and also promised to compensate his loss,” he said.
