Sisters' Stories

Women

• Christian Fined for Distributing Magazines

  

  This past Christmas, a neighbourhood celebration in Uzbekistan was hosted by Tatyana Akhmadiyeva, a member of a local Baptist church. At the event, she offered Christian magazines to 15 of her neighbours. Local authorities received a report about the distribution and summoned Tatyana for questioning. She was told that the publications had been imported illegally, since they had not been evaluated by the "Struggle with Extremism and Terrorism Department." As a result, the officials confiscated the magazines, which they claimed were unlawfully distributed, and fined Tatyana the equivalent of two weeks' average wages.

• Pastor's Wife Rescued from Forced Prostitution

  

  Pastor Ramdrash and his wife Sunita have been ministering in a small church since 2001. Over the years, they've endured frequent threats from members of the surrounding community. On February 21st, Sunita was approached by someone in the village who asked if she would come pray for someone who had allegedly been ill. She innocently went with the villager, and then all of a sudden disappeared.

• Prison Summons Expected Soon

  

  Iranian believers request prayer for Christian converts Homayoun Zhaveh (62) and his wife Sara Ahmadi (42), who are anticipating an order to serve prison sentences because of their house church activities.

• Pastor's Relatives Raped and Church Threatened

  

   

  In late January of this year, the wife of Caled Bwambale Hussein, the imam of Kasese, Uganda, came to faith in Christ and was baptized on February 6th. A week later, her husband heard the news and began to plot retribution. When Mariam Mbambu found out from a Christian neighbour that her husband intended to kill her, she fled with her five children, finding refuge through the local church.

• Leah Sharibu Held Captive for Three Years

  

  On February 19th, 2018, Islamic jihadists from Boko Haram swept into Dapchi town, Yobe State, in northern Nigeria. In this particular incident (one of numerous abductions), the militants kidnapped 110 girls, most of whom were Muslims, from Dapchi's Government Girls' Science and Technical College. (To review one of VOMC's past reports on Leah's situation, go to this page).

• Kidnapped Girl Returns to Family

  

  On Saturday, December 5th, 2020, police in Faisalabad, Pakistan, found 12-year-old Farah Shaheen chained in the home of Khizar Hayat. Five months earlier, Khizar had kidnapped her, taken her to the local mosque to be converted to Islam, and then forced her to marry him. According to police, the dark marks on her ankles indicated that she was chained for most of her time in captivity.

• Nurse Beaten After Blasphemy Allegation

  

  A Christian nurse, known for her Gospel singing, has been charged with blasphemy against Islam. Tabitha Nazir Gill was accused by a co-worker on January 28th after a dispute.

  The head nurse at Sobhraj Maternity Hospital had issued orders that nurses were not to receive any cash from patients. When one of the nurses was seen collecting money, Tabitha reminded her of the policy; at which time, Tabitha encountered an attack and then was accused of inciting violence, along with blasphemy. Video footage has been released showing Tabitha being beaten, tied up, and locked in a room until police arrived.

• Imprisoned Pastor's Family Facing Harassment

  

  Earlier in 2020, it was reported that Sithong Theppavong, the pastor of a small church in a farming area of Savannakhet Province, received repeated warnings to cease his ministry. On March 15th, 2020, he was arrested without any indication of charges. For more details on his arrest, visit VOMC's previously posted report.

• Militants Attack Pastor's Family

  

  On December 27th, Pastor Moses Nabwana and his wife Naura were beaten because of the recent conversion of a Muslim imam. Pastor Moses was admitted to hospital due to the seriousness of his injuries (read a previous report on this incident). Four weeks later, the family was again attacked.

• Mary Mohammadi Faces New Arrest

  

  Fatemeh (Mary) Mohammadi is a Christian blogger who has openly expressed her concerns over the human rights abuses in Iran. She was previously imprisoned for being a member of a house church. In April 2020, she received a suspended sentence, plus ten lashes for "disturbing public order" (see this report).