The women disappeared in November, 2020
Reports in Pakistan claim that two Christian women were found murdered in the Kahna neighborhood of Lahore after disappearing in November 2020. The family of the deceased claims the women were harassed by Muslim coworkers prior to their disappearance and murder.
The family of Abida Bibi, age 23, and her sister Sajida, age 25, claims the sisters were abducted after months of harassment from two Muslim coworkers.
“They often complained about being harassed by two Muslim coworkers,” Rani Bibi, the sisters’ mother, told International Christian Concern (ICC). “However, I asked them to ignore the harassment and continue their jobs. I was worried that they might lose their jobs if they complained to the administration against Muhammad Naeem and Muhammad Mumtaz, the kidnappers and killers.”
On November 26, both Abida and Sajida disappeared while shopping together. The family reported the disappearance to police and claimed the girls were abducted by the men who were harassing them at work. According to the family, the police did not take any action to recover the missing women.
On December 11, the body of Sajida was found with her throat slit in a sewerage tunnel. On January 4, the body of Abida was found floating in another drain. Both bodies show marks of being strangled and handcuffed.
Police have arrested Muhammad Naeem and Muhammad Mumtaz in connection with the murders.
According to a study by the Movement for Solidarity and Peace Pakistan, an estimated 1,000 Christian and Hindu women are abducted, forcefully married, and forcefully converted to Islam every year. Many of the victims are minors. Sexual assaults and fraudulent marriages are used by perpetrators to entrap victims and authorities are often complicit.
The issue of religion is injected into cases of sexual assault to place victims from religious minority communities at a disadvantage. Playing upon religious biases, perpetrators know they can cover up and justify their crimes by introducing an element of religion.
(International Christian Concern)