In Pakistan, to be born into the minority Christian community and female – definitely to be a Christian woman – is both a challenge and a kind of punishment.
A challenge, because it opens a Pandora’s box of issues related to social class, marital status and religious discrimination as well as gender bias. A punishment, because sometimes there is no redress from the law or even support from the church. In their own country these people are treated as outsiders and when they go abroad they are viewed as ‘Pakistani’. Thus they are ostracised everywhere! There are two sides to the picture. One is where all the social media, journalistic media, political parties and politicians say ‘all is well’. But is it really? What about the stark reality of the other side of this picture where many issues go unspoken, unheard or unread?
Sold as a slave
A child maid working in a prominent lawyer’s house goes missing. Upon her parents hue and cry, a few days later her body is found bruised, battered and tortured. The factory worker’s daughter is kidnapped. She is forcibly converted and then, after being desecrated, sold by her husband to a landlord in Azad Kashmir as a slave. All this happens because she dared to defy the neighbourhood goon’s lecherous advances. Human Rights Watch and others can make a poster child for rape of Mukhtar Mai, but who will help liberate these girls? Christians with property are targeted under the guise of the Blasphemy Law. They are plotted against by the land-grabbing ‘mafia’.
The war on terror hit home in September 2013 when All Saint’s Church in Peshawar was subjected to a suicide bomb attack. Many of the victims were hurt below the waist and paralysed or severely maimed. Many lost families and many were orphaned. The killers are still untraceable and no justice has been served. The Lady Reading Hospital was suddenly short-staffed. No doctors or surgeons were available to aid the wounded and dying.
Contractual marriage
In the new era of interfaith harmony and hence encouragement to intermarry, most of the sufferers are the women. Their need for a stable economic partner is exploited by the majority. Mostly such marriages fail with the woman losing everything in an ugly divorce. The children of mixed marriages suffer unjustly and are victimised by both their family and society. Hence, to be unequally yoked is unwise even to this day. In Islam, marriage is a contract between two people which may be terminated any time by just talaq uttering (divorce) three times. In Christianity, marriage is a covenant which is binding before the presence of God. It is a lifelong commitment and a journey to be shared between two people, willing to commit themselves to each other and to God. Nowadays, people are afraid to commit. Even Christian marriages are becoming contractual. Sad, but true.
This, my friends, is the true ‘war on terror’ every Christian woman faces: severe social restraint, psychological harassment, religious prejudice and socio-cultural exploitation. They may be good workers, but others will be promoted in their stead. People will try to take advantage of them. They are viewed as being more open and broad-minded in most matters prohibited by society. This makes them extremely vulnerable to exploitation. They work more hours, are paid less and are not safe even inside their homes. There is no legal protection for their life or property.
Oh church arise!
What can be done to remedy this situation? I believe the solution lies with the church, parachurch organisations, Christian community in Pakistan and Christian NGOs who can and must do the following:
• Create awareness in young girls and women about their rights and educate them about their ‘identity in Christ’, stressing the importance of being proud of who they are, not ashamed.
• Career counselling and career adoption programmes to educate young girl students.
• Mentoring programmes whereby Christians may support each other in the workplace.
• Importance of formal education and technical and vocational training must be stressed.
It is commendable that outreach efforts to the majority community are underway. It is good and part of the Great Commission and should not be discounted. What about the ‘lost Christian sheep’? They are just as ignorant and adopt pagan practices from other religions. This war is fought every day by every Christian on the socio-economic, political and religious fronts. In a land where religion reigns supreme, it is a delight and a struggle to maintain our faith. Thank God for religious freedom.
In this new era of interfaith dialogue where family and moral values are becoming distorted my questions are:
• What will happen when the light is snuffed out?
• What happens when the salt loses its saltiness?
