In the capital of Pakistan where there are many government and non-governmental institutions working for the protection of child rights, special children rights, human rights and the rights of women, only one of them have come out calling for the release of Ms. Rimsha, the 14-year-old Christian girl who has been charged with blasphemy. It has now been revealed that Rimsha does not suffer from Down’s syndrome but is, in fact, a slow learner with a mental age of around 10 or 11.
Rimsha has been charged under the country’s blasphemy law which carries the death penalty and has now made two court appearances. In the first hearing the judge refused bail, citing the fear of retaliation by Islamic fanatics. Today, (30 August) she was presented to the Additional Session Judge, Raja Jawad Hassan Abass, in Islamabad for her bail petition. The lawyer from the All Pakistan Minority Movement, Mr. Chaudry Tahir Nazir, who is also a member of the Punjab Provincial Assembly, produced a medical certificate from the medical board of the Poly Clinic Hospital, an official hospital, that she has been declared by the medical board to be a slow learner and illiterate, so she should be granted bail. Ms. Rimsha has little or no education and cannot read or write; she cannot recognise any letters or numericals. This in itself should be evidence enough that she had no intention of insulting Islam by the blasphemous act of burning the Holy Book, the Quran. However, the judge refused to accept the contents of the medical report and used the excuse that, as he had not asked the lawyer to convene a medical board he was under no obligation to accept the findings. The previous board was made on the orders of President Zardari which was also refused by the Additional Session judge.
Ms. Rimsha, is being held in a very small room at the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, Punjab province. This is the same jail in which high profile terrorists are held including Mumtaz Qadri, the killer of the former governor of Punjab, who enjoys all communication facilities. In direct contrast to this, Ms. Rimsha’s cell is so small that she can barely walk about and her parents have been denied permission to visit her. This in itself is a gross violation of the most basic human rights. Religious minority groups are not expecting the judiciary to do justice for the child despite her innocence in view of the threats from powerful militant groups.
It has been witnessed in many previous cases concerning the blasphemy law that the judiciary in general is extremely biased in cases where the prosecution of religious minorities is concerned. This bias may well be the result of the well established threat of physical violence by Muslim extremists.
According to the Blasphemy Law Section 295 C and B, there is no division of age, religion, personality, gender, and educational or any mental disorder. This provides the opportunity for any Muslim to blame anyone, even another Muslim, for using blasphemous words against the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Therefore the police and culprits can use this ambiguity in the blasphemy law to kill the accused out of hand without any investigation or proof. The police and other investigation agencies rarely investigate any killing on such a complaint. In this particular case Ms. Rimsha is a slow learner and she is not able to read or write but, the Additional Session judge, in his wisdom, has seen fit to place in a situation where she is living with high profile criminals. There cannot possibly be any justification for this given her mental and educational background.
The question begs to be asked, in this instance, who is the slow learner, Ms. Rimsha or the judge?
The government of Pakistan must take charge of this matter and act according to the Declaration on the rights of disable persons, proclaimed by the UN General Assembly to respect their human dignity; offer them the same fundamental rights as their fellow-citizens; the same civil and political rights as other human beings; undertake measures designed to enable them to become as self-reliant as possible; ensure medical, psychological and functional treatment and develop their capabilities and skills to the maximum in order to hasten the process of their social integration or reintegration and finally ensure their right to economic and social security and to a decent level of living according to their capabilities, to secure and retain employment.
About the author: Khalid Shahzad is the Director of the Dorothea Centre for Special Children and may be contacted at: nonstick777@yahoo.com
