Release International is calling on Christians to make Pakistan their focus for the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church on November 16.

Release is highlighting the plight of Christian women, who are denied full legal rights in Pakistan. Several speak out on Release's new DVD, 'Pray for Pakistan'.

Christian women are doubly disadvantaged in Pakistan, said Release, which serves the persecuted church worldwide. In Pakistan, women are regarded as inferior to men in the courts, and Christians are considered inferior to Muslims.

As Christians are denied equal legal rights, there is a growing problem of Christian women being abused in the workplace, or abducted, raped and forcibly married.

"Girls as young as 14 are kidnapped and raped and then they are forced to get married, often to someone three or four times older than they are," says Aneeqa, who works for Release partner CLAAS (Centre for Legal Aid Assistance and Settlement).

Sadia was 17 and working as a teacher when a Muslim man almost three times her age said he wanted to marry her. When she refused, he threatened Sadia and her parents.

He waited until Sadia went shopping, then forced her into his car and abducted her.

"The next day he took me to the madrasa [Muslim school] and forced me to convert to Islam," she says. "He threatened to kill my family. At gunpoint he made me sign the conversion certificate. Then he forced me to get married. Later he raped me, and continually raped me."

Sadia managed to escape and is now being cared for by Release partner, CLAAS, which has set up a safe house for girls such as Sadia.

"CLAAS is providing everything for us," she says. "We are living like a family."

Inspired by the example of Release's partner, Sadia has a new ambition: "I want to become a lawyer to help people who are in situations like me - especially young girls who are abducted."

Release is helping Christians who are discriminated against by the legal system, and is supporting a programme to teach new skills to women who have been abused by their employers.

More than 20 young women are being taught sewing and needlework at the Tabitha sewing centre, set up by Release partner Professor Kaleem Dean "to equip Christian women to earn money with dignity and pride".

These Christian women can now earn three times as much as they could as domestic servants or working in sweatshops and brick kilns, and they can now earn their living without fear of being abused.

They are also being taught to read and write, empowering them and their families in a land where many women are denied a basic education and 95 per cent of Christian women are illiterate.

"Christians in Pakistan face many forms of discrimination," says Release CEO Andy Dipper, "not least in the complex legal system where justice often eludes them.

"Please join us on November 16, the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church, in praying for poor Christian women - especially those facing abuse. Pray they will find support and healing in their churches. And pray for the Christian organisations working to empower and strengthen women."

Release is also working with Sharing Life Ministries Pakistan, supporting Christian prisoners and their families, and is helping CLAAS (Centre for Legal Aid Assistance and Settlement) to defend Christians in the courts.

On the web:
Release has produced the DVD Pray for Pakistan and a PowerPoint presentation, intended for use in churches and home groups and available from www.releaseinternational.org