ASIA/PAKISTAN - 
Faisalabad (Agenzia Fides) – The foetus suffers from a severe form of hydrocephalus; no higher or lower limbs are present. It is destined for certain death due to miscarriage, or, should it come to light, in the first moments of life. That is the tragic diagnosis for the foetus in the womb of Kiran Nayyaz, the 13 year old Catholic girl who became pregnant after being sexually abused in April.
The incident was condemned by the Church of Faisalabad to Fides last October (see Fides 13/10/2010). Nayyaz Kiran, who worked as a maid in the house of a wealthy Muslim landowner, became pregnant after repeated violence subjected by Muhammad Javed, a young Muslim, employed as a driver by the same family. The incident happened in the village of Chak Jhumra, 35 km from Faisalabad, in April 2010, but a formal complaint against the rapist was only submitted to authorities on 2 October, thanks to the intervention of the “Justice and Peace Commission” and the “Commission for Women” from the diocese of Faisalabad. Kiran is now under the protection of the local Church and has already changed religious convents three times for security reasons. The girl in fact, is in the crosshairs by her own relatives, as well as her attacker's. The family would like to eliminate her because her case is a stain, a “dishonour” for the family, according to the logic that gives precedence to the culture and ancestral traditions of the same Christian faith. The man who abused her, and his group of Muslim cronies would like to kill her to erase any possibility of legal conviction and, therefore, to have assured impunity. The Church in Faisalabad is providing all medical and psychological care to the youth. Fides sources say that Kiran is absolutely exhausted, both physically and psychologically, in her painful condition of “child turned adult”. Some doctors say her life could be at risk, given the difficult pregnancy, now in its sixth month. The choice is, however, to “leave it in the hands of Providence and give up to God the life of the child that Kiran carries in her womb. There will not be, however, a voluntary termination of pregnancy. If there is a miscarriage, it will be accepted. If the foetus comes to light he will be baptised in the early moments of his life in the world. “We are always in favour of life, even in this tragic situation,” notes the Fides source. Meanwhile human rights groups in Pakistan and also the Association of Pakistani Christians in Italy claim that those responsible for the violence, still at large, do not go unpunished, but be arrested and prosecuted. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 15/12/2010)
