Reiterating that forced conversions were taking place in Kerala, National Commission for Women (NCW) acting chairperson Rekha Sharma on Tuesday stated that some extremist groups were behind such conversions that involved immoral methods and blackmailing even as State Women’s Commission chairperson MC Josephine sought to enter into a war of words on the issue.
“All kinds of immoral methods are being used for some conversions… These girls are being taken away from their parents, from their country by some organisations. They are getting funds. What are the sources of these fundsIJ” Sharma asked while talking to newsmen in Kozhikode on Tuesday. All conversions were not based on free choice or love for another religion, she said. The NCW acting chief’s statement was in indirect reference to the cases of Akhila alias Hadia, the 25-year-old Hindu woman from Kottayam who had embraced Islam, and several other Hindu girls who had converted to Islam allegedly under several kinds of pressure. Sharma had visited Akhila/Hadia on Monday at her father’s house where she is presently lodged.
Sharma said that several conversions with suspicious backgrounds had taken place in Kerala recently.