A Christian nurse here\u00a0has told police\u00a0she was raped by a Muslim\u00a0co-worker who filmed the act and showed it to her family\u00a0in an attempt to blackmail her into renouncing her faith and marrying him.<\/p>\n
Christians have little legal or societal standing in Pakistan —\u00a0and Muslim criminals tend to assume they will not be prosecuted if their victims are Christians. However, the videotaped evidence this time\u00a0might make a difference<\/p>\n
Shaista Samuel, a 27-year-old nurse at the Services Institute of Medical Sciences, said she had worked several years on good terms with the man who began stalking her, then raped her.<\/p>\n
She\u00a0told Compass Direct News how she has filed a “first information report” at Shadman police station accusing Ali Adnan, an assistant accounts officer at the hospital, and an armed accomplice of abducting her at gunpoint from the government hospital on Aug. 21 and taking her to a house in Lahore where Adnan\u2019s accomplice filmed the rape.<\/p>\n
\u201c[Adnan] was holding my arm tightly and forcibly led me to a white car in the parking lot,\u201d Samuel said in tears, adding that as they approached the car, Adnan\u2019s accomplice came out of the shadows and placed a handgun to her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cAdnan said that they would shoot me if I raised my voice. I was in complete shock \u2026 my senses went numb, and I could not believe this was happening to me. They took me to a house in WAPDA Town [for housing Water and Power Development Authority workers in Lahore], where Adnan raped me while his friend filmed the entire incident. They ruined my life completely.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought of him as a good friend, since we were working together\u2026 he used to visit my home often and was known to my family,\u201d she told Compass.<\/p>\n
Recently, however, Adnan had begun acting strangely toward her, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe started criticizing Christians for not observing the purdah [covering of women] and of following our \u2018own brand of religion,\u2019\u201d she said. \u201cOne day when I was least expecting it, he told me that he had started liking me and that I should convert to Islam and marry him. I told him that I had always considered him just a friend, and that although I held him in great regard, marrying him was not possible since we belonged to different faiths.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adnan began harassing her at the workplace and by telephone, she said. \u201cHe used to block my way at the hospital, and then one day he forced his way into my house and threatened me and my family, saying that he would not rest until they marry me to him. He was acting like a mad man. He started cursing my family and even tried to set the house on fire.\u201d<\/p>\n
Disturbed by Adnan\u2019s obsessive behavior, Samuel said that she tried her best not to come into any sort of contact with him. On Aug. 21, however, as soon as she entered the hospital he approached her from behind and forced her to sit in a car in the hospital\u2019s parking area, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll this while, he told me not to make a commotion as it would only create an embarrassing situation for me,\u201d she said. \u201cHe said he just wanted to talk to me to \u2018clear up some misunderstandings.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
He then led her to the white car, and the accomplice appeared. Samuel said the two men held her for over an hour and then dropped her back at the hospital, telling her that if she told anyone about the rape they would send the film to her family and also upload it on social networking sites.<\/p>\n
In Pakistan, a rape victim is generally considered too shamed to resume a normal life or pursue marriage.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was devastated,\u201d she said. \u201cI wanted the earth to open up and swallow me. I did not share my ordeal with any person, not even my parents. I did not have the courage to tell them that their daughter had been dishonored, and decided to keep my misery to myself \u2026 I could not see my father and brothers face the shame brought by my bad luck.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her misery did not end there \u2013 Adnan began trying to blackmail her by phone, she added.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt first he demanded that I convert to Islam, and only then would he consider forgiving me for refusing his proposal,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
When she refused, he began demanding sexual favors and threatening to come to her house and show the film to her family \u2013 Pakistanis tend to shame the victims rather than the perpetrators of rape \u2013 but Samuel refused to be manipulated by his threats, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy defiance angered Adnan to such an extent that one evening he turned up at my home and showed the film to my parents,\u201d Samuel said. \u201cHe then told my shocked family that they had no other option but to hand me over to him … he told them that he \u2018owned\u2019 me now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adnan left the house, leaving the family, who are members of St. Andrews Church, which is affiliated with the Church of Pakistan, in deep anguish.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had a very tough decision to make,\u201d Samuel said. \u2018We could have either conceded to his demand or be ready to face the shame and dishonor by reporting his crime, but we chose the latter. Adnan must be punished for ruining my life. I thank God that he rescued me from Adnan\u2019s blackmailing, otherwise I would have remained in mental agony for the rest of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Compass Direct says that a reporter\u00a0tried to reach Adnan for comment, but he would not take the call.<\/p>\n
Although Shaista and her family have filed a report\u00a0with police, getting justice without higher government help is usually\u00a0difficult for Christians in Pakistant.\u00a0Police have\u00a0yet to arrest the two suspects.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father and brothers have been going to the police station every day to ask them to record the statements of the accused,” said Samuel,\u00a0“but the investigating officer of the case is using delay tactics. I\u2019ve been asked ridiculous questions about the incident, but I will not be discouraged from seeking justice.\u201d<\/p>\n
Samuel said she was tired of suspicious and questioning eyes at her workplace and has taken leave from the hospital. The administration has formed a committee to probe into the matter.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am sick and tired of people staring at me and asking questions,\u201d she said, adding that after she took leave, no one from the hospital administration had contacted her though she had heard of the committee\u2019s formation. The two-member committee includes medical Superintendent Muhammad Javaid and the hospital\u2019s finance director.<\/p>\n
Javaid told Compass Direct News\u00a0that the committee would record the statements of the complainant and the accused and would also examine the circumstantial evidence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A Christian nurse here\u00a0has told police\u00a0she was raped by a Muslim\u00a0co-worker who filmed the act and showed it to her family\u00a0in an attempt to blackmail her into renouncing her faith and marrying him. Christians have little legal or societal standing in Pakistan —\u00a0and Muslim criminals tend to assume they will not be prosecuted if their…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":270,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,5],"tags":[115,113],"class_list":["post-1079","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pakistan","category-persecuted-christians","tag-pakistan","tag-persecuted-christians"],"yoast_head":"\n