ECLJ Represents Christian Nursing Student in Pakistan who Was Raped, Beaten & Nearly Murdered Because of Her Faith
“Are you Christian?” is the first thing the Muslim doctor enquired before beating, raping, and pushing out the window a Christian nursing student on July 13 in Karachi, Pakistan. The Bishop of Karachi, Sadiq Daniel, asked the European Centre for Law and Justice (ECLJ) in Lahore, Pakistan to provide legal assistance to the victim. The President of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari, also took serious notice of the incident and asked an ECLJ staff member, Napoleon Qayyam, to go to Karachi with our legal team to investigate the matter and submit a report on the incident.
The incident took place in Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center (JPMC) where 18-year-old Magdalene Ashraf was training to become a nurse. The defendant, Abdul Jabbar Memon, a Muslim doctor, was illegally staying in the medical staff’s residential premises. The JPMC Executive Director, Professor Tasnim Ahsan, told our legal team that Memon often harasses and assaults nurses while intoxicated. She said that several complaints had been sent to the Provincial Health Secretary, but Memon had such strong political connections that the hospital administration was powerless to take any action. The defendant had become influential because he was a medico-legal officer for more than a decade who had developed connections with the police and criminals.
On July 13, Ms. Ashraf left for home when her friend, Sajjad Fatimah, another nursing student and Ms. Ashraf’s classmate, called her and told her that she was standing outside the Doctors’ Mess, which is on the way to Ms. Ashraf’s home, and that they could go home together. When Ms. Ashraf arrived, Fatimah told her that she wanted to see her boyfriend, Dr. Tayyab, on the way. Ms. Ashraf went with Fatima to the Doctors’ Mess. Fatima led her to a room where Memon was already present. Ms. Ashraf testified that Memon locked the door and put the key in his pocket. Memon asked her if she was a Christian. “Yes, I am a Christian,” she replied. Memon slapped her and she fell down. He brutally beat her and tore her clothes. She stood up and tried to escape by jumping through a window, but Memon prevented her from leaving. After raping her, Memon said to her, “Now you better die,” and pushed Ms. Ashraf out of the window from the second floor of the building.
In her statement to the police on July 20, Ms. Ashraf testified that before pushing her out of the window, Memon told her that the police would not be able to do anything because he was very influential. Pointing to the police badge that the officer was wearing at the time of recording her statement, Ms. Ashraf said that Memon’s car also displayed that official seal of the Police Department. She expressed concern about receiving justice in this matter.
After pushing Ms. Ashraf out the second-floor window, Memon tried to make it appear that Ms. Ashraf jumped from the window to commit suicide and that he had tried to save her.
Some children who were playing nearby found Ms. Ashraf on the ground bleeding. They informed the security chief, Akram Janjuwa, and Ms. Ashraf was sent to the emergency room.
The security chief reported the incident to the police. He stated that when he had arrived at the crime scene, several people told him that Doctor Abdul Jabbar Memon had thrown Ms. Ashraf out of the window. The police have yet to locate those witnesses
Ms. Ashraf remained in a coma for three days. She was so severely beaten that when she regained consciousness, she could not open her eyes. On July 20, when she became stable, the police recorded her statement.
The ECLJ legal team in Pakistan is not satisfied with the way the hospital management and the police have handled the situation. The police have delayed their investigation, failed to arrest Memon’s accomplices in the crime, and are still attempting to label this case as an "attempted suicide." To make matters worse, hospital officials wanted to release her and send her home while she was still in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and still in grave danger because of her injuries.
Ms. Ashraf’s sister, Sheila Ashraf, has repeatedly told the media and high ranking officials in the Pakistani Government that the family has been offered 700,000 rupees ($8,800 US) to withdraw the case filed against Memon. Ms. Ashraf’s sister said that the family was also threatened with dire consequences if they pursued the case.
Asif Aqeel, who is the executive director of our office in Pakistan, says that until recently the plight of nurses was never brought to light, but was largely ignored because the nursing profession was considered only for Christian women. Hospitals are places where men and women work together. However, Muslims do not want to send their women to work with men. In the last decade, though, this trend has changed and now Muslim women are also taking part in the nursing profession. Now, this brutal attack on a Christian nurse has generated great concern in a country where that would not have been the case not long ago. Aqeel acknowledged that this is a positive development. After the attack, the JPMC School of Nursing remained closed for five days and hundreds of nurses blocked the road in front of the hospital demanding severe punishment for Memon. The case gained nationwide attention after the nurses boycotted their classes and protested.
Aqeel also said that he was thankful to the president for confidently appointing our legal team and field officer, Napoleon Qayyum, to investigate the matter and send him a report. Qayyum has also demanded security for Ms. Ashraf, which has yet to be provided.
Shehzad Maan, the ECLJ’s attorney in Pakistan who is representing Ms. Ashraf in the case against Memon, said that there have been efforts to weaken the case, but he expressed confidence in the courts and said he expects to get justice for Ms. Ashraf.
We will keep you updated on further developments.
You can view additional Pakistani television news reports on the case here and here.
