 | « Back to article | Print this article |
A six-year-old Hindu girl who was allegedly raped in Pakistan's southern Sindh province has been admitted to a hospital in Karachi about 10 days after she was molested, according to media reports on Friday.
The girl, a student of Class 1, was playing near her home in Ghulam Nabi Shah area of Umerkot district when Hashim Magiro, the owner of a gambling den, allegedly kidnapped and raped her on December 3.
Some unconfirmed reports said the girl was gang-raped.
She was brought to Karachi on Wednesday and admitted to the Lyari General Hospital.
Several civil society groups visited the girl in hospital and expressed solidarity with her family.
"We talked to the family of the girl and offered them legal aid," said Rushksana Siddiqui of War Against Rape.
The girl's relative's said she was first taken to Umerkots district hospital, where there was no doctor on duty.
Then she was taken to Mirpurkhas, located 76 km from Umerkot, but the staff at the hospital there did not treat her properly even though her condition had deteriorated and she was bleeding profusely.
The girl's family said she received similar treatment at yet another hospital in Hyderabad.
The incident shocked residents of Ghulam Nabi Shah and several protests were organised at the local press club.
The National Assembly or lower house of parliament on Thursday asked its Standing Committee on Human Rights to probe reports of the alleged rape.
The matter was referred to the committee after it was raised in the house by ruling Pakistan People's Party lawmaker Nawab Yousuf Talpur.