Hindus Fight for Marriage Rights in Pakistan

Hindus Fight for Marriage Rights in Pakistan Just Like Gays are Fighting for Marriage Rights in the West. 

By Linda Brock

Lahore, Pakistan (CHAKRA) – A Hindu couple, Mukesh and Padma in Hyderabad Pakistan, tied the knot with a traditional Hindu ceremony but in a fashion different from the rest. The wedding, while having the seven pheras (seven circles around the holy fire) was held on the streets for two purposes. The start of a new relationship for the couple as well as to publicize a stance against the complete disregard of Hindu couples existence.
Since 1947, the Muslim-backed Pakistani government has not recognized Hindu married couples as legally married. Due to this ignorance and disregard for Hindu individuals, many families have had to deal with social, psychological and even domestic problems including domestic violence against women, says Guru Sukh Dev, the pandit who solemnized the Hindu ceremony with Vedic verses.
Ramesh Mal, a local leader organized the demonstration for the couple and he said that ever since the creation of the Islamic State of Pakistan, they have not yet accepted Hindu marriage in order to enact laws that formalize it in a majority-based Muslim society. Mal further stated his opinion that the Pakistani government should follow suit from India and take steps to introduce laws that protect Hindu marriages.
According to Mal, not only do Hindu marriages cause hardships for Hindus in Pakistan but the community also has problems obtaining passports, registering married women, and conducting property transfers. Due to these issues even traveling within Pakistan becomes difficult if not impossible for Hindu individuals.
During the marriage the protesters chanted slogans to convince President Zardari to take further steps towards legalizing Hindu marriages.
Sapna Devi, one of the protesters revealed her union of marriage of 17 years yet she had no legal proof of it. In her case if her husband were to pass away she would not even be able to claim property that rightly belongs to her because there are no legal terms stating they are a union.
The newly wedded couple shared that although their wedding may have been seen as strange or chaotic, they still saw it as a start of a new life for them because they were fighting for change that was very important to their union–something the marriage ceremony itself stood for. So they think it was worth every minute, if it got a point across to the government and media. Padma said that everyone deserved to have such a basic right and they will not stop fighting until they get what they deserve.
source:chakra