Pakistan (MNN) — Every year, hundreds of Pakistani Muslim men kidnap Christian, Hindu, and Sikh women and children. Many are as young as 12, chained up to keep them from escaping. The men often force both conversion to Islam and marriage upon their victims.
Vincent Michael of FMI says this happens so often, it barely makes the news. And there isn’t much families of victims can do. “A couple of years ago, I was in Pakistan and we visited a family whose daughter was kidnapped just months before. While we were visiting that family, the family of the kidnappers was outside taunting them. They were saying, ‘If you try to do anything, or if those Americans who are with you try to do anything, we will kidnap your other daughters too.’”
This kind of abduction is not technically legal in Pakistan. But often, the authorities look the other way. Michael says, “In Islam, the theology of gender is very different than in Christianity. We believe that both genders are created equally in the image of God. Conservative Islamic theology does not teach that, nor does it practice it.”
How to pray
Many Pakistani people disapprove of this treatment, but change has been very slow. Pray the Gospel of the risen Jesus would change many hearts in Pakistan. Michael says, “And then pray for the authorities. Because oftentimes, is the authorities that can make the difference. It really is up to them to be just and to uphold the laws that are already on the books.”
Header photo courtesy of Shiza Nazir on Unsplash.
