General

“I was last to come out alive”- Kenyan student on her life-changing injuries from Garissa

April 18, 2019 Kenya Al-Shabaab, Garissa, Islamic extremism, Kenya, Women

Reachel Ginkonyo, in Kenya, in a wheelchair after surviving the Garissa massacre, April, 2015

Four years ago, on the eve of Good Friday – the day on which Christians remember Jesus Christ’s crucifixion – 143 Kenyan university students were killed, singled out by Al-Shabaab gunmen for their Christian faith. Four more died after armed forces arrived, making it the deadliest terrorist incident in Kenya . . . Read More

5 years on, 112 Chibok girls missing – but they are just ‘tip of the iceberg’

April 12, 2019 Nigeria Chibok girls, Children, Kidnapping, Minorities, Nigeria, Religious freedom, Women

Dr Rebecca Dali talks of 5th anniversary of Chibok girls' kidnap, from Abuja, Nigeria

Five years ago, April 14th, 2014, about 230 girls from Chibok Girls’ Secondary School in NE Nigeria were rounded up at night by men in army dress and driven off on trucks into the darkness. In the immediate aftermath, 47 of them escaped; some jumped off the trucks, others managed . . . Read More

‘In context of gender justice, women’s right to freedom of religion pretty much ignored’

March 19, 2019 Global News -- No Particular Country Converts, Hindu nationalism, Human rights, India, Minorities, Religious freedom, Women

Anurima Bhargava (USCIRF) and Helene Fisher (Open Doors) at UN NGO Committee on Freedom of Religion or Belief CSW side event, 14 March, 2019

She is a woman who can be identified only as “Z”, for her security. She is a Christian in India, a country that is overwhelmingly Hindu. And she is a lawyer defending women and youth from exploitation by landlords and employers, so she was pleased when she got the opportunity . . . Read More

Christians face uncertain future as Syria enters possible last year of civil war

March 16, 2019 Syria

As the Syrian civil war enters what might be its last year, Christians are trying to rebuild in the face of an uncertain future. The conflict, which grew out of the tiny spark of anti-government graffiti 15 March 2011, has claimed more than half a million lives. More than 11 . . . Read More

For persecuted Christian women, violence is compounded by ‘shaming’

March 8, 2019 Global News -- No Particular Country Algeria, Colombia, Converts, Eritrea, Iraq, Islamic State, Jordan, Kenya, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Women, Yemen

Women to women conference in Ethiopia, February 2018.

It would be hard to argue the world is unaware that Islamic State fighters used rape and sexual violence as a weapon of war against Iraq’s Yazidi women: Nadia Murad shared the 2018 Nobel Prize after she told the world of her personal ordeal at their hands. However, testimonies from . . . Read More

Pastor Brunson case increased ‘hate speech’ against Turkey’s Protestants – report

February 27, 2019 Turkey Andrew Brunson, Ankara, Human rights, Istanbul, Izmir, Malatya, Mardin, Protestants, Turkey

Malatya’s Kurtulus (Salvation) Church posted this message on the broken glass after an attacker heaved a brick through the church’s display window on November 24, 2017: “’Bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.’ – Jesus Christ.” (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

Turkey’s high-profile criminal case against Protestant pastor Andrew Brunson has triggered a significant increase in public hate speech against the nation’s small Protestant community, creating what its church leaders last week called a ‘climate of insecurity’ for its congregations and individual members. According to the Turkish Association of Protestant Churches’ . . . Read More

North Korea asks for food aid as its president discusses denuclearisation

February 26, 2019 North Korea China, Donald Trump, Hanoi, Kim Jong-Un, North Korea, South Korea, UN

As with the first round of talks, the conditions that make North Korea the toughest place on earth for Christians won’t be up for discussion. (Photo: Getty Images)

As the leaders of North Korea and the United States are scheduled to meet in Vietnam for a second round of denuclearisation talks, North Koreans continue to flee human rights abuses and increasing food shortages. As with the first round of talks, the conditions that make North Korea the toughest . . . Read More

Tajikistan: Children barred from attending church, 5,000 Christian calendars burned

February 25, 2019 Tajikistan Baptists, Children, Education, Religion Law, Tajikistan

A church in Isfara, northern Tajikistan. (Photo: 2005, World Watch Monitor)

Tajik authorities implementing a new religion law are barring children from attending religious services and have burned thousands of calendars with Bible verses. Amendments to Tajikistan’s Religion Law came into force in January last year, giving the state greater control over religious education, and increase the amount of information religious organisations . . . Read More

As Nigeria votes, family and churches urge candidates to remember Christian teen Leah Sharibu

February 21, 2019 Nigeria Boko Haram, Chibok girls, Dapchi, Leah Sharibu, Nigeria, Women, Yobe

Leah Sharibu was 14 when she was abducted, Feb 19, 2018

One year since the Christian teenager Leah Sharibu was abducted from her boarding school in north-eastern Nigeria by an Islamist group, a coalition of groups have called on presidential candidates to tell Nigerians how they plan to secure her release. “We are urging the political parties and their candidates that . . . Read More

Nigeria elections: Whomever wins, Christians hope for justice and security

February 15, 2019 Nigeria Adamawa, Boko Haram, Borno, Chibok girls, Dapchi, Elections, Fulani herdsmen, Leah Sharibu, Middle Belt, Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria, Plateau, Yobe

Burned church in a village in Nigeria's southern Kaduna after an attack by suspected Fulani gunmen. Violence attributed to militant herdsmen in Nigeria reached a record high last year. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

As Nigerians are preparing to go to the polls tomorrow to elect a new president, Boko Haram has been stepping up attacks in the northeast of the country, making it difficult if not impossible for people to vote. On Tuesday, 12 February, the Islamist militants attacked Madagali town, Gulak, Magar . . . Read More

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