GLOBAL PRAYER NETWORK: New Pew Study Finds Women Face More Christian Persecution than Men

Sabtu, 11 Juni 2016

New Pew Study Finds Women Face More Christian Persecution than Men

By Dan Wooding, Founder of the ASSIST News Service

WASHINGTON, DC (ANS – May 10 2016) -- A new Pew Research Center study has found that women are persecuted more than men because one, they are Christian, and two, because they are female, said The Tide®, a global radio ministry.

According to the study, Christian women are the largest religious group in the world, making up almost 34 percent of the global population. In many countries, these women pray more frequently and attend weekly church services more often than men. They also consider religion more important.

The recent global survey reveals that the rise of radical Islamic extremism is the primary reason for the persecution of Christians around the world – and many of the victims are women.

“Unfortunately, more and more women are the target of terrorist groups,” Emily Fuentes, communications director for Open Doors, told the Catholic News Agency (CAN) on April 20, 2016.

“There are numerous international incidents of women being kidnapped, raped, and forced to convert from Christianity to Islam by radical extremist groups like Boko Haram. Many are also sold on the open market. This brutality is not only occurring in the Middle East but in Africa and in many other places.”

The California-based Open Doors organization focuses on anti-Christian persecution in countries around the world. According to its 2016 World Watch List, the level of violence against Christians globally has reached an all-time high, with numbers almost doubling every year. The report also found that Islamic extremism is “the primary driving factor in 35 out of the top 50 states.”

“In many of these countries, women are subject to persecution because they are considered second-class citizens because of their gender,” Fuentes added. “As minorities in both gender and faith, Christian women face double the persecution. Although we don’t have an exact number, we know that millions of women are being persecuted.”

In the last two years, the Islamic State group has reportedly executed 250 girls in for refusing to become sex slaves. Two years ago, Boko Haram infamously stormed a school in Chibok, Nigeria, kidnapping 276 teen girls. The majority of those girls are still missing.

Christian Today (http://www.christiantoday.com) says that Open Doors’ top 50 watch list ranked North Korea as the country where Christians are most persecuted, followed by Somalia, Iraq, Eritrea, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Most of the countries listed are either in the Middle East or Africa.

“Last year, more than 7,000 Christians were killed for their faith. This is an increase from 4,344 in 2014 and 2,123 in 2013. The statistics do not include Christians killed in North Korea, Iraq or Syria, where reports are unattainable,” said Christian Today.

“In 2015, there were 2,484 Christians killed for their faith in Nigeria—the most deaths of Christians in any country. The Central African Republic was second worst, with 1,088 deaths. Syria, Kenya and North Korea also proved deadly for Christians, with at least a hundred deaths in each country.”

Fuentes explained that these countries fear public religious expression.

This can especially have an effect on women.

“Christian women tend to be more outspoken and devoted to their faith than men. Unfortunately, they end up paying a price for it,” she said, noting that some countries believe that religion is a threat to their rule. “Women are seen as valuing their faith and serving a God that is higher than the government and that is unacceptable to foreign governments.”

Fuentes underscored that the persecution of women goes beyond physical abuse.

“In these Muslim-dominated countries, Christian women are systematically deprived of their freedom to live and are denied basic human necessities,” she explained. “They do not have access to proper health care, nutrition or education.”

“Surviving is all about strategically going about their day and taking extra precautions like traveling with a male relative,” Fuentes added. “In some cases, it is easy for them to make small inconvenient plans. But most times, there is no solution--which puts women at grave risk daily.”

Fuentes said knowledge of this situation is lacking.

“There definitely needs to be a lot more education and advocacy on behalf of women who are facing persecution all over the world,” she said. “It is vital to assess international aid and relations with different governments to see how they are treating Christian women.”

She said it’s necessary to say that “persecuting women and people of faith is unacceptable.”

In March, the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously voted on a resolution against the actions of the Islamic State Group against Christians, Yazidis, and other religious and ethnic minorities in the Middle East. The resolution officially recognized these acts as “war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.”

But Olivia Enos, research associate in the Asian Studies Center at the Heritage Foundation, told CNA that identifying the problem is only the first step.

“The Obama administration has not made this issue a priority,” she said April 21. “It’s great that the U.S. government has identified these atrocities as genocide, but it really hasn’t done much to follow-up on this designation. If we want to demonstrate that religious freedom is something our government really cares about, then there should be next steps and action items.”

Enos said that only a more comprehensive approach can resolve this “ethnic cleansing.”

“Oftentimes, human rights issues are viewed in isolation from broader national security concerns when they really should be viewed as complementary to those efforts,” she said. “Advancing national security interests should never be to the detriment of human rights. A safe country is tolerant of different religions.”

“When you don’t defend religious freedom, you have severe human rights abuses,” Enos added. “It is not just religious freedom for women or one group of people; it is religious freedom for all.”

Photo captions: 1) Women from a religious minority group in the Middle East who are facing intense persecution under ISIS. 2) Group of Indian women believers. 3) Despite years of Hindu dominance, Christianity is currently the fastest growing religion in Nepal. 4) The missing Chibok schoolgirls in this picture released by Boko Haram. 5) Dan Wooding with some of his 45 books. (OC Register).

About the writer: Dan Wooding, 75, is an award-winning winning author, broadcaster and journalist who was born in Nigeria of British missionary parents, and is now living in Southern California with his wife Norma, to whom he has been married for nearly 53 years. They have two sons, Andrew and Peter, and six grandchildren, who all live in the UK. Dan is the founder and international director of the ASSIST News Service (ANS), and the author or co-author of some 45 books. Dan has a radio show and two TV shows, all based in Southern California.