A man who lived nearby raped a married Christian woman at gunpoint after she refused his repeated demands for her to convert and to marry him, a source said.
The woman’s husband said his wife was raped June 11 at gunpoint in their home in the village of Chak No. 134/16L in Pakistan’s Punjab province. He told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News that the perpetrator is a Muslim man who lived across a field from them.
The 36-year-old mother of five was alone and was ill when Rashid Anwaar invaded the woman’s home. “He took out a pistol and threatened to kill her if she raised her voice,” her husband told the news outlet.
He and his brother arrived from work to hear the woman crying in a locked room. Anwaar emerged from the room, pointed the gun at the two men and ordered them to get out of his way. The husband said Anwaar then fled.
‘Systemic human rights emergency’
The woman was taken to a hospital for treatment.
Police arrested Anwaar three days later.
“Sexual violence against minority women (in Pakistan) is not rare. It’s a systemic human rights emergency that is often met with silence and inaction,” Joseph Janssen, field officer of the advocacy group Jubilee Campaign, told Christian Daily-Morning Star.
World Watch
Ninety-six percent of Pakistan’s population is Muslim. Pakistan is No. 8 on Open Doors’ 2025 World Watch List of the 50 places most difficult to be a Christian.
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