Displaying items by tag: injustice

Pakistani Christians are crying silently for peace, understanding, and respect for their religious symbols. But their cries are not heard domestically or globally. Christianity has been an integral part of Pakistan's multi-religious society since its inception in 1947 when Muhammad Ali Jinnah promised equal citizenship rights. In 2023 Christians are treated as second-class citizens, discriminated against, and targets of hostility and violence. Often the blasphemy law is misused against them, further worsening their situation. A comprehensive strategy that includes improved security measures for religious minorities and educational campaigns to foster tolerance and mutual respect is needed urgently. The government needs to uphold its commitment to religious freedom and safeguard all its citizens, as enshrined in its constitution and in line with international covenants. Pray for the government to reassess its approach toward religious minorities and condemn violence and threats against them. Pray for incorporating religious tolerance and coexistence in the curricula for school and public awareness campaigns.

Asda is limiting customers to two boxes of eggs and Lidl is allowing three, due to rising costs and bird flu. Waitrose is monitoring customer demand. The UK is facing its largest-ever bout of this highly pathogenic disease. When there is a confirmed outbreak on a poultry or egg farm, all birds in the area are destroyed. The outbreak is compounding existing shortages as producers cut back on output or leave the industry due to increased costs. Russia's invasion of Ukraine raised farmers' energy bills and the costs of chicken feed, hens and packaging. There are 36.7 million egg-laying birds nationally, but there is capacity for over 44 million. Also, retailers are not paying farmers a fair price. The price of twelve supermarket eggs has risen by 50p, but farmers only saw a price rise of 5p to 10p.

Despite increasingly repressive rule under the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), dissent occurs regularly and is geographically widespread, according to a new analysis by Freedom House. It recorded 668 instances of dissent in China from June to September, as people spoke out against stalled housing projects, labour rights violations, fraud, Covid policies, and state violence, among other grievances. The analysis found that ¼ of cases involving people who engaged in dissent faced authorities’ reprisals - including violence, intimidation, detention, and censorship - illustrating CCP’s efforts to restrict organised collective action. Contrary to what China wants the world to believe, individuals throughout the country are standing up to Beijing’s machine of censorship and repression to make their voices heard. More Chinese are courageously exercising their fundamental rights to free expression and assembly. Some are achieving concessions from private companies and local officials, which is troubling to the increasingly oppressive party.

8 March was International Women’s Day. Genesis 1:27 says God created both men and women in His image, yet women disproportionately suffer injustice. Operation World statistics report, ‘Women account for two thirds of the world’s poorest citizens. Nearly two thirds of illiterate people are women, and this proportion has stayed the same for two decades. Globally, women are paid less than men. A cultural preference for male babies has led to 30 million or more deaths of unborn or baby girls, mostly in India and China. This fuels the growth of trafficking of women as brides or sex slaves.’ In 1945 the UN Charter was the first international agreement to affirm the principle of equality between women and men. The UN celebrated its first official International Women's Day during International Women’s Year in 1975. Nearly fifty years later, women still don’t fully participate in political, cultural and economic arenas in many nations and cultures. Globally, this still needs to be addressed.

The police forces in Turkey’s Kurdish region resemble occupying armies. Government-appointed mayors, police brutality and armies of imams have altered society’s fabric. Allegations against Special Forces of rape and sexual harassment are ignored. If such accusations are publicised, officials will dismiss it as affairs between soldiers and girls who want to marry them. A former mayor commented, ‘It is better that they are involved in prostitution than protesting the government.’ A young Kurd who photographed a policeman killing an innocent Kurd in 2017 now faces twenty years in prison, while the policeman goes unpunished. Also recently hundreds of army officers, pilots and civilians were jailed for life for taking part in the 2016 attempted coup to overthrow President Erdoğan. The acquittal of the police officer and the hundreds jailed comes when Erdogan is trying to attract foreign investors. Even the simplest reforms would demand drastically altering the way Turkey polices, prosecutes, judges, and  imprisons its residents. See

In July Filmon, an Eritrean victim of anti-Christian persecution, applied for political asylum via Port Elizabeth (PE). The Department of Home Affairs told him to return after a month. Despite a court order for the department to reopen its Cape Town office, people like Filmon have to make repeated trips to PE. When he finally had a hearing on 9 October, the official concluded he was a genuine victim of religious persecution - but in November his application was refused, and despite being assisted by an experienced lawyer he got a permit for only one month. His wife Sharon, a medical doctor, who fled from their Marxist-governed country ahead of her husband, was also refused asylum. Filmon has been advised to pay a bribe, as the only way to be successful, but as a matter of principle he does not wish to do this. He now has to go to PE for the fifth time, unless God intervenes.

A local authority has ordered the demolition of a newly-built church after a month of use, ostensibly for lack of planning permission, even though no other building in the locality had any. Pastor Newton Das bought land for a church in August 2018. To save costs he hired local contractors and had substantial help through congregation volunteers, eager to begin worshipping in a proper church. The vision was fulfilled on 7 August, when 200+ believers attended 'Church of Jesus’ Anointing' at its launch, but by the second week the church was asked to close as they had no planning permission. Discussions were unsuccessful, and a JCB demolished the church boundary wall and building. Other unplanned buildings have been left intact. The congregation have not let hatred towards them shake their confidence or love for God.

Blind pastor Balu Saste's case took three years to be settled in court; his acquittal is being hailed as a triumph by Christian persecution watch groups. The pastor, his wife, and eleven church members were violently attacked by a mob during church services. Police arrested him, his wife, and their six-year-old son, stripped them, beat them, detained them without bail for three days, and falsely charged them with forcing Christian conversions. The story is not unique. Violence against Christians has risen significantly. In three months the United Christian Forum and ADF India have documented over 80 violent mob attacks against Christians in 13 different states across India. The attacks often take a similar shape, and rarely receive police attention. Christians face injustice continually, and the ruling in Balu’s case shows that the fundamental rights of religious minorities can and should be protected in the courtroom and through effective legal advocacy.

Stoning to death and amputation as punishments - including for children - are provided for in newly-implemented sections of the Brunei Darussalam sharia penal code that came into force on 3 April, according to a discreet notice on the attorney general’s website. ‘To legalise such cruel and inhuman penalties is appalling of itself. Some of the potential “offences” should not even be deemed crimes at all, including consensual sex between adults of the same gender’,said a researcher at Amnesty International. These abusive provisions received widespread condemnation when first discussed five years ago. Amnesty expressed grave concerns: ‘This penal code is a deeply flawed piece of legislation containing a range of provisions that violate human rights. As well as imposing cruel, inhuman and degrading punishments, it blatantly restricts the rights to freedom of expression, religion, and belief, and codifies discrimination against women and girls.’

The Foreign Office (FO) has been recouping the cost of repatriating young women who were forced into marriages overseas, prompting charities to criticise it for making women ‘pay for their protection’. Many of the 82 victims of forced marriage repatriated in 2016-17 had to pay for living costs incurred between making distress calls and returning home, as well as their airfare; others received loans which they had to repay. They had to give up their passports until they had repaid the debt, with a surcharge added after six months. But many could not find work because potential employers wanted to see their passport, which the FO held. Four young British women imprisoned and tortured at a ‘correctional’ religious school in Somalia ahead of expected forced marriages had to pay £740 to return home; they said the burden of having to repay the loans contributed to their becoming destitute.