Pakistani Christians stand up to injustice, evicted as a result

ICC Note

“A lot of them are left homeless. They do go with families, and Christians in other areas and churches will try to help them. But the Christian population is pretty small in Pakistan , so it’s very, very difficult for them,”

07/01/2010 Pakistan (MNN)-Today, 250 Christian families are being evicted from their homes in the Khanewal District of Pakistan by their Muslim landlords. The reason? They stood up against the landlords and their sons raping their wives and daughters.

Sadly, when these Christian families spoke up, they went against the norm for treatment of women in Pakistan . Greg Musselman of Voice of the Martyrs, Canada said of women there: “They have virtually no rights, and so these abuses go on all the time; to try to get justice is very difficult.”

Musselman shared an example. “In one case, I remember a young lady we had met who was sexually assaulted by the owner of the home [she worked in]. Before she could get to the police station, … the family that she was working for went to the police station and had her charged with theft. She was arrested and was raped again by this same young man–and also a prison guard.”

Without their homes, believers have little or no options. “A lot of them are left homeless. They do go with families, and Christians in other areas and churches will try to help them. But the Christian population is pretty small in Pakistan , so it’s very, very difficult for them,” Musselman said.

In addition to prayer, “We also can be making our voice heard to our embassies in Canada and the United States … to let them know that we are concerned,” Musselman said.

You can find contact information for the U.S. Embassy or the Canadian Embassy in Pakistan on either of their Web sites.