Pakistan: Christian women are considered the booty of war
There is a growing discrimination and persecution against Christians. It 's time the government took the issue of respect for human rights seriously. The UN and EU are placing pressure. So said Nasir Saeed, a Pakistani Christian and coordinator of the Center for Legal Aid, Assistance, and Settlement (CLAAS), in an interview. CLAAS is a service that provides free legal advice and practical support to persecuted Christians in Pakistan. The Center has its headquarters in London and another base in Pakistan, where many lawyers work to defend Christians accused of blasphemy or in need of legal assistance.
What is the current situation of Christians in Pakistan?
The suffering continues. Recently, there has been a troubling escalation of discrimination and persecution against Christians in the country, especially against Christian women and girls. Abductions, rapes, forced marriages, forced conversions to Islam, accusations of blasphemy are all part of our daily agenda. This prolonged suffering is spreading a sense of injustice and neglect, especially among the youth and the poor. We to raise our voices to offer them a better position in seeking justice.
Could you give some examples and provide details?
The cases are many. We know that three members of one Christian family were forced to leave their home because of false accusations of blasphemy, without any evidence, and in many towns and villages, Christians are living on high alert for fear of mob violence. Many incidents of violence are not even brought to light, due to pressures from influential Muslims or because the injured parties - often poor people living in remote areas - do not have money to take legal action or do not know how to react to abuse. So, it is difficult to estimate the exact number of cases of persecution and violence. But it is much higher than you think, because most cases do not end up in the mass media are not recorded in official reports or complaints.
How do you view the case of Asia Bibi?
Asia Bibi was the first woman to be sentenced to death, but other people have suffered the same fate before her. And many others are suffering in prison. We are alarmed by how the blasphemy law is affecting Christians and especially women. We are doing everything possible to raise awareness in the United Nations and European Union, so that they can place serious pressure on the government. It's time that the government of Pakistan took the issue of human rights and minority rights seriously.
Why do women suffer more?
Women, like Asia Bibi, are paying a heavy price for being a Christian in Islamic society: the proliferation of attacks and accusations has reached an unprecedented level. Christian women are looked down upon and considered inferior. They are treated by Muslim men as objects, as 'mal-e-ganimat', a war prize.
How do you assess the action of the government and institutions?
While religious intolerance is at a very high level, the government of Pakistan, politicians, and Muslim religious leaders do not take it seriously. Police rarely make serious investigations until an NGO, a church, or some influential person comes in to resolve a case. This apathetic attitude is very serious.
We want our brothers and sisters in Pakistan to be treated equally, to enjoy the same rights of all citizens, as Ali Jinnah, the Father of the Homeland and drafter of the Constitution, wrote and said. We try to help them with legal assistance, and sometimes it is not easy because of their reticence. The messages of hope, encouragement, sympathy, and prayers from faithful around the world are very important.
Pakistan: Christian women are considered the booty of war | Spero News
Pope pleads for Christian mother sentenced to hang in Pakistan
Vatican City
- Pope Benedict XVI on Wednesday appealed for the life of a Christian woman facing execution in Pakistan for allegedly insulting the prophet Mohammed to be spared.
'I express my closeness to Asia Bibi and her family,' the pontiff said, speaking at his weekly general audience. 'And I ask that she be set free as soon as possible.'
The spiritual leader of the world's 1.1 billion Catholics also called on the international community to consider the 'difficult situation faced by Christians in Pakistan, where they are often victims of violence and discrimination.'
Bibi's case has triggered outrage since the 45-year-old mother of five was last week sentenced to death by a court in Nankana Sahab, a district in the central Pakistani province of Punjab.
Bibi was arrested in June 2009 after a brief brawl with a group of Muslim women who said she should not have touched a water bowl. The women later alleged that Bibi had uttered derogatory remarks about the prophet.
Bibi pleaded not guilty, but the court sentenced her to hang.
It was the first death sentence handed to a woman under the country's controversial blasphemy laws.
Pakistan's around 3 million Christians - who account for roughly 1.6 per cent of the country's population - have been negatively affected by growing Islamist extremism, which has its roots in the Islamization policies of military dictator Zia ul Haq in the 1980s.
Ul Haq introduced blasphemy laws in his effort to impose sharia law, which rights activists say have been used to persecute minority groups.
Pope pleads for Christian mother sentenced to hang in Pakistan - Monsters and Critics
There is a growing discrimination and persecution against Christians. It 's time the government took the issue of respect for human rights seriously. The UN and EU are placing pressure. So said Nasir Saeed, a Pakistani Christian and coordinator of the Center for Legal Aid, Assistance, and Settlement (CLAAS), in an interview. CLAAS is a service that provides free legal advice and practical support to persecuted Christians in Pakistan. The Center has its headquarters in London and another base in Pakistan, where many lawyers work to defend Christians accused of blasphemy or in need of legal assistance.
What is the current situation of Christians in Pakistan?
The suffering continues. Recently, there has been a troubling escalation of discrimination and persecution against Christians in the country, especially against Christian women and girls. Abductions, rapes, forced marriages, forced conversions to Islam, accusations of blasphemy are all part of our daily agenda. This prolonged suffering is spreading a sense of injustice and neglect, especially among the youth and the poor. We to raise our voices to offer them a better position in seeking justice.
Could you give some examples and provide details?
The cases are many. We know that three members of one Christian family were forced to leave their home because of false accusations of blasphemy, without any evidence, and in many towns and villages, Christians are living on high alert for fear of mob violence. Many incidents of violence are not even brought to light, due to pressures from influential Muslims or because the injured parties - often poor people living in remote areas - do not have money to take legal action or do not know how to react to abuse. So, it is difficult to estimate the exact number of cases of persecution and violence. But it is much higher than you think, because most cases do not end up in the mass media are not recorded in official reports or complaints.
How do you view the case of Asia Bibi?
Asia Bibi was the first woman to be sentenced to death, but other people have suffered the same fate before her. And many others are suffering in prison. We are alarmed by how the blasphemy law is affecting Christians and especially women. We are doing everything possible to raise awareness in the United Nations and European Union, so that they can place serious pressure on the government. It's time that the government of Pakistan took the issue of human rights and minority rights seriously.
Why do women suffer more?
Women, like Asia Bibi, are paying a heavy price for being a Christian in Islamic society: the proliferation of attacks and accusations has reached an unprecedented level. Christian women are looked down upon and considered inferior. They are treated by Muslim men as objects, as 'mal-e-ganimat', a war prize.
How do you assess the action of the government and institutions?
While religious intolerance is at a very high level, the government of Pakistan, politicians, and Muslim religious leaders do not take it seriously. Police rarely make serious investigations until an NGO, a church, or some influential person comes in to resolve a case. This apathetic attitude is very serious.
We want our brothers and sisters in Pakistan to be treated equally, to enjoy the same rights of all citizens, as Ali Jinnah, the Father of the Homeland and drafter of the Constitution, wrote and said. We try to help them with legal assistance, and sometimes it is not easy because of their reticence. The messages of hope, encouragement, sympathy, and prayers from faithful around the world are very important.
Pakistan: Christian women are considered the booty of war | Spero News
Pope pleads for Christian mother sentenced to hang in Pakistan
Vatican City
- Pope Benedict XVI on Wednesday appealed for the life of a Christian woman facing execution in Pakistan for allegedly insulting the prophet Mohammed to be spared.
'I express my closeness to Asia Bibi and her family,' the pontiff said, speaking at his weekly general audience. 'And I ask that she be set free as soon as possible.'
The spiritual leader of the world's 1.1 billion Catholics also called on the international community to consider the 'difficult situation faced by Christians in Pakistan, where they are often victims of violence and discrimination.'
Bibi's case has triggered outrage since the 45-year-old mother of five was last week sentenced to death by a court in Nankana Sahab, a district in the central Pakistani province of Punjab.
Bibi was arrested in June 2009 after a brief brawl with a group of Muslim women who said she should not have touched a water bowl. The women later alleged that Bibi had uttered derogatory remarks about the prophet.
Bibi pleaded not guilty, but the court sentenced her to hang.
It was the first death sentence handed to a woman under the country's controversial blasphemy laws.
Pakistan's around 3 million Christians - who account for roughly 1.6 per cent of the country's population - have been negatively affected by growing Islamist extremism, which has its roots in the Islamization policies of military dictator Zia ul Haq in the 1980s.
Ul Haq introduced blasphemy laws in his effort to impose sharia law, which rights activists say have been used to persecute minority groups.
Pope pleads for Christian mother sentenced to hang in Pakistan - Monsters and Critics
