On the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, ACN calls attention to the suffering of Christian women in countries where sexual violence is used as a weapon against religious minorities, and urges national governments and international organisations to do more to combat the increasing number of these violations, which are often committed with impunity, fuelling concerns that they form part of a fundamentalist strategy to hasten the disappearance of certain religious groups from their countries.
“If being believing in Jesus Christ presents a serious threat in many parts of the world, being a female Christian is even more difficult. In many countries where religious persecution is still rife, violence against women is often used as a weapon of discrimination”, says Thomas Heine-Geldern, executive president of Aid to the Church in Need. “The year that is now drawing to a close saw again numerous cases of Christian women and girls being kidnapped and forced to convert and marry men of other religions”.
NIGERIA / MAIDUGURI
Human resources and skills acquisition centre for trauma counselling in the Catholic Diocese of Maiduguri
Michelle Clark, an academic who has studied this phenomenon extensively, especially in relation to Egypt, says that these attacks are part of a larger trend. “Attacks against Christian women have increased in number – and yes, it has something to do with religion. There is evidence that they are planned down to the last detail. More cases are being reported. But many cases are left unreported”, she explains.
Michelle Clark was one of the experts who collaborated with Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) on the “Hear her cries” report, regarding “the kidnapping, forced conversion and sexual victimisation of Christian women and girls”. In an interview with ACN she explains the effects of this targeted violence.
“It does more than tear families apart. Violence against Christian women is a weapon being used to wage war against religious minorities. If a Christian is forced to convert or is forcibly married to a Muslim, it is impossible for her to return to her Christian faith – even if she can free herself, or is released from the marriage. Her children will always remain Muslim. Mothers and their children are a growing target group. You are not only removing a single person from the group of Christians, but a mother and her progeny.”
Merab Arif during her work for NCJP
Merab Arif is Communication Coordinator of the National Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP) in Lahore – Pakistan.
ACN has supported partners on the ground to increase protection for Christian women in countries such as Pakistan, where the number of forced conversion and marriages, including Hindus and Sikhs, was 78 in 2021, with 38 cases involving Christians, according to the Lahore-based Center for Social Justice. By some estimates, however, the number is much higher, with some suggesting that as many as 1000 cases occur every year.
Besides Pakistan, ACN supports projects all over the world that help to dignify and protect women. One example, which serves women who were often subjected to terrible abuse by terrorist groups such as Boko Haram, is in Nigeria. During a visit to ACN’s headquarters, auxiliary Bishop Joseph Bakeni, of Maiduguri, made an appeal to stand up to this evil, saying that “as a Church we should be at the forefront of addressing these issues. Through the assistance of ACN we have a trauma centre which serves many people in the communities and in the camps, especially the victims. The Church sees this as a priority, so we are at the forefront, working alongside other stakeholders to see that this issue is addressed, and rejected in our society.”
