Sisters' Stories

Women

• Delayed Investigation After Attack on Christian Woman

  

  A horrific attack on a young Christian mother has once again exposed the severe forms of persecution experienced by religious minorities in Pakistan. On June 11th, Sheeza Bibi was brutally raped by three men while her three-year-old daughter, Dua, watched in terror. The incident was clearly premeditated.

• Court Decisions Render Justice for Christians

  

  Christians in Pakistan often encounter intense opposition, particularly through the country's legal system. However, three recent court rulings have brought about a measure of relief and a renewed hope for justice.

• Laleh Saati Receives Conditional Release

  

  Laleh Saati is a Christian convert and former asylum-seeker who was incarcerated in February 2024 and sentenced to two years in prison. (For more information on the imprisonment of this 46-year-old Iranian follower of Jesus, visit this page.)Throughout Laleh's time in custody, concerns have been raised about her physical health and psychological well-being. Most recently, it was reported that the Christian woman was denied needed medical treatment for a hand injury that had occurred as a result of a fall.

• Detained Pastor's Wife in Solitary Confinement

  

  In 2022, Pastor Joseph Shahbazian was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment for his Christian ministry work in Iran. After an appeal, he was released a year later. For unknown reasons, however, he was suddenly rearrested on February 6th of this year, and now reportedly faces numerous charges. For more details, see this report.

• Christian Couple Attacked at Gunpoint

  

  On the night of March 25th, Adnan Masih and his wife Shumaila were heading home from work on their motorcycle when they were suddenly intercepted by two armed gunmen. After seizing the married couple's cell phone and the small amount of cash they were carrying, the thieves physically beat the Christians and demanded more money. Adnan told the gunmen that he and his wife were poor Christians who had nothing more to give. It was then that the attack became more violent.

• Needed Freedom from Kidnapping

  

  On January 5th, 12-year-old Saba Shafique was abducted from her home in Lahore, Pakistan, and forced to convert to Islam before being married to her abductor. This devastating incident occurred despite the country's laws prohibiting child marriage.

• Young Teen Kidnapped

  

  On January 9th, a 14-year-old Christian girl was kidnapped just outside her home. The abducted teen's family is concerned that those responsible are planning to forcibly convert her to Islam and then make the young girl marry one of her attackers.

• Attack Leads to Miscarriage

  

  Kunika Kashyap was more than six months pregnant when she went to visit another Christian in her village who had been ill. While Kunika was sitting at the ailing believer's bedside, a relative of hers named Ganga Ram Kashyap began recording the pregnant Christian woman on his mobile phone, hoping to obtain video evidence of her praying.

• Christian Woman Killed, Daughter Wounded

  

  On January 6th, two Christian women had been returning home from work in Gujranwala when they were approached and shot by two men on a motorcycle. During the attack, Shabana and her 18-year-old daughter Misbah were both struck by bullets. The mother was instantly killed at the scene, while Misbah received a serious bullet wound to her back – requiring urgently needed hospitalization for treatment. At last report, the Christian teen remains in critical condition.

• Sisters Accused of Blasphemy

  

  On August 6th, Mohammad Haider claimed that he saw a Christian woman named Sonia Masih putting trash into a bag and then disposing of it. The Muslim man said that when he looked inside the trash bag, it contained ruined pages of the Quran. The next day, Mohammad went to Sonia's home to further investigate the situation, taking two other community members with him. He alleged that Sonia's sister, Saima, had made some inappropriate religious comments to them during the visit, leading the Muslim men to contend that the two Christian sisters committed blasphemy.