Islamabad: The women of the impoverished minority Christian community in Pakistan is being trafficked into China on the pretext of marriage. Once the unsuspecting women reach China, they are abused, abandoned, and even forced into prostitution. The most shocking thing is that both the countries deny any knowledge of the issue.
Reports say that 629 women from across Pakistan were sold to Chinese men as wives and then taken to China. In October, a court acquitted 31 men from China in connection with trafficking Pakistani Christian women. They went scot-free after the women were threatened and bribed and failed to testify against them.
The authorities in both countries have denied any knowledge of the issue. Even the media in Pakistan is also forced into silence by the government. There is no one to help these women who are sold to Chinese men.
The Pakistani Christian community is one the most backward and poor communities in Pakistan. Brokers force the parents to marry of their daughters to Chinese men in lieu of money and a better life.
Once the girls reach China with their new ‘husbands’ they are abused, abandoned or even forced into prostitution. Those behind the network includes Christian ministers who are paid well to force women from their community to get married to Chinese men. Pakistani and Chinese middle men are involved in the whole operation.
An investigation into the issue found that one Muslim cleric is running a marriage bureau from his Madrassa for this.
