To Be A Woman, To Be A Christian And To Be Prophetic Are Interlinked

Thursday, September 4, 2008
LAHORE, Pakistan (UCAN) -- Christian women are doubly marginalized in Pakistan, because they are women and because they belong to a religious minority, says Sister Zakai Jamal.

One aspect of this marginalization is the violence and discrimination that Christian women face, given the intolerant attitude to openness and modern values that is part of the "Talibanization" of Pakistani society, says the nun, who belongs to the Sisters of Charity of Jesus and Mary.

More than 95 percent of Pakistan's 160 million people are Muslims, while Christians account for less than 1 percent.

To be a woman, to be a Christian and to be prophetic are interlinked realities here. Each can produce similar consequences.

Youhanabad is a thickly populated Christian colony in the outskirts of Lahore where most of the women work in factories and in the houses of rich Muslims. Of course they get minimum wages, but they also are often harassed, disgraced and ill-treated. Most of these cases are never reported.

Quite often young girls go missing or are kidnapped, raped or killed in this locality. In other cases, acid is thrown on their face. The highest degree of their suffering is that however hard they work, they get very little to provide sufficient food or security to their children. The daily rise in the cost of basic commodities -- flour, rice, sugar, milk -- is a heavy burden on their minds. Though outwardly fit, due to malnutrition and hard work they are victims of tuberculosis, typhoid, scabies and hepatitis.

Among the various categories of women, Religious women have more space to breathe and are given some recognition in society. What affects nuns most is the Islamic rejection of the vow of chastity. According to Islamic tradition, it is unacceptable because it is against the plan of God for human beings.

Another threat is the growing Talibanization of society. Terrorist groups influence the minds of simple people as well. For them, women are not human beings, just articles of daily use to be hidden within the four walls at home. The Taliban movement involves the destruction of all that promotes life, love, beauty and healthy relations among nations. About 125 schools have been burned and bombed by militants so far this year in the troubled districts of Swat and Dir, in North West Frontier Province. Some are occupied by militants and some by security forces. Bombing of girls' schools and threatening letters sent to them have driven away both the teachers and female students, making the attendance drop more than 50 percent. Read more