OPCA protests against rights violation

The Overseas Pakistan Christian Association (OPCA) on Wednesday, the occasion of International Women’s Day, organised a protest in the Netherlands over the violation of the rights of Christian women and girls in Pakistan. According to the Netherlands based human rights organisation Global Human Rights Defence (GHRD), a group of close to 102 protestors gathered at Plein 1813 outside the Pakistan Ambassador’s residence at 13:00 pm and a protester started by explaining the thought behind the protest. The protest was covered by the GHRTV crew. It included a live stream of the event, along with videos and pictures. According to GHRD, the occasion of International Women’s Day was chosen to convey the terrible condition of minority women and girls in Pakistan, to the Pakistan government, and the Dutch parliament and also to send the message across to the rest of the world. They displayed various banners reading ‘Women’s Rights are Human Rights’, ‘I’m a Child, not a Bride’, ‘Stop forced conversions of minor girls in Pakistan’ and ‘Stop forced conversion of Minorities in Pakistan’. The protestors then marched towards the Pakistan Embassy chanting slogans; “Stop forced conversions”, “We want justice”, and “Save our Daughters”. They then gathered outside the Pakistan Embassy and continued chanting the above slogans and also said that they want freedom everywhere, in cities, villages, schools, colleges and all walks of life-that minorities should enjoy equal rights as any other Pakistan resident and not have to live in constant fear.