4 of 4

Finding a Christian husband for her will not be easy.

Finding one for Shagufta won't be, either, Kenny says. "The parents don't want her," she says. "And who wants a wife who can't bear children?"

Days can be long at Apna Ghar. Today after lunch, the smell of spicy chicken and rice hangs in the air. The women gather around a metal pan filled with coals in the center of the kitchen. Their smiles and laughter don't betray the burdens each woman bears. They sing Urdu hymns from a handwritten songbook. Outside, a loudspeaker sounds an Islamic call to prayer.

Deann Alford is a writer and editor in Austin, Texas.

Copyright © 2004 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

More about the Centre for Legal Aid Assistance & Settlement can be found on their web site.

The Jubilee Campaign and International Christian Concern also have more information on their web sites.

More Christianity Today articles from Pakistan include:

Also posted today is an InsideCT article about Deann Alford.

Pakistani Christian Student Dies from Torture | Muslim seminary implicated in forcible conversion attempt. (May 12, 2004)

Pakistan Court Acquits Christian of Blasphemy | Arrested in 1998, Aslam Masih is released from prison because of a lack of evidence. (July 23, 2003)

Three Killed in Christmas Attack on Church | Two men in burqas throw a bomb into a small church during worship. (Jan. 13, 2003)

Karachi Police Defy Pakistan High Court | Christian massacre survivor released from custody, detained, and then released again. (Oct. 24, 2002)

So Far, So Near | A graduate of Murree Christian School in Pakistan, the site of a deadly assault by Islamic terrorists in August, reflects on his growing-up years, on what has changed in the interim, and on the beleaguered Christian community in Pakistan. (Sept. 09, 2002)

first page |  4 of 4

share this page

June 2004, Vol. 48, No. 6