A/54/386 law. Finally, it mentioned that a place of worship had been allocated to the Catholic Church in Tbilisi. 62. India. The Christian community was reportedly still feeling uneasy. Their uneasiness was not the result of isolated incidents, but of a resurgence of Hindu militancy and the Hindu policy with respect to minorities. In order to broaden their electoral base and thus their impact on the population, militant Hindu groups were deliberately attacking the Christian minority and its institutions in the education, health and social sectors because of their influence on the Indians, especially those who were the most disadvantaged or living in remote areas of the country. Presumably those Hindu groups were using illegal methods and were accusing the Christians of trying to convert India to their beliefs. It was alleged further that they were conducting a hate campaign against Christians through the media, pamphlets and posters. The campaign was allegedly being financed by Hindu organizations abroad. Apparently, the authorities had not taken any definite action to remedy the situation. The chief perpetrators of the murder of Pastor Graham Staines and the rape of the nuns (see report E/CN.4/1999/58) reportedly had not been arrested and, shielded by that situation of impunity, there had been continuing attacks on Christians, such as the rape of two girls, the abduction of another and the desecration of a place of worship. The women and girls of the community seemed to have become the chief targets of the militant Hindus. Women were reportedly especially affected by discriminatory acts based on religion or religious traditions. The “personal status” laws classified women as inferior. The “status laws” that applied to Muslims apparently entitled men to unilateral divorce if they so desired, but not women. The “status laws” that applied to Christians entitled men to seek divorce on grounds of adultery whereas women had to show proof of special abuse and claim redress under certain categories of adultery only. Among Hindu women, although sati and the dowry were prohibited under customary law, those traditions were apparently not totally eradicated in some rural areas. 63. Iran (Islamic Republic of). There was an urgent appeal about the arrest of 13 members of the Jewish community, including rabbis and religious teachers, in the cities of Shiraz and Ispahan. They were reportedly accused of spying for Israel and the United States, whereas the real reason they were arrested was that they were Jewish. 64. The Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran replied that the suspects arrested for spying included both Christians and Muslims, that the investigation and the arrest had taken place without regard for their religious 10 beliefs and were instead a matter of safeguarding national security. A communiqué from the Jewish community was also transmitted stating that like every other religious minority, that community was well treated by the Islamic Republic of Iran and enjoyed the constitutional rights of citizenship and that the arrests and charges against certain Iranian Jews had nothing to do with their religion. Foreign press releases were also transmitted. 65. Israel. The Israeli Government and the military administrations were said to be pursuing a policy aimed at forcing the Christian communities out of Jerusalem. The Palestinian Christians of East Jerusalem were allegedly being stripped of their right of residence by having their identity cards confiscated and very few drivers’ licences issued to them, the purpose being to raise the prices of housing and encouraging the building of illegal housing which could then be demolished. All the Christian communities of Jerusalem would lose members as a result of the policies and practices described above. Women would sometimes suffer discrimination in matters of divorce. Rabbinical courts deliberately gave preference to men, for example, by allowing a husband to remarry notwithstanding his wife’s dissent or by not penalizing a husband who refused to consent to a divorce despite the sound and well-founded reasons given by the wife. Similarly, some Islamic courts reportedly denied any request for divorce from a wife but would grant it to any man notwithstanding his wife’s dissent. 66. Kuwait. Despite some progress in advancing women’s rights, women were said to be adversely affected by certain laws based on religious criteria. It was claimed that they suffered discrimination in the following respects: the consent of the husband was mandatory if the wife sought to obtain a passport; marriage between Muslim women and non-Muslim men was prohibited; and in the Islamic courts, the testimony of one man was equivalent to that of two women. Since Kuwait’s reply could not be translated before this document was issued, it will be summarized in the next report of the Special Rapporteur. 67. Malaysia. Christians were allegedly subject to restrictions on all religious activities compared with Muslims. Despite progress in the legislation governing property and divorce, non-Muslim women reportedly suffered discrimination under the “personal status” laws. 68. Maldives. Protestants are reportedly forbidden to practise their religion in public because the conversion of Muslims to another religion is allegedly prohibited. The conversion of Muslims is said to be punished by loss of citizenship.