Mass exodus of teachers triggers education crisis in north east Kenya

Sandstorm over Mandera, one of three provinces in NE Kenya (Photo: Open Doors International)
Recent killings of non-local teachers in north-eastern Kenya by suspected al-Shabaab militants have triggered a further mass exodus from the predominantly Muslim region, after at least one previous exodus in March 2018. According to Kenya Ministry of Education figures, 32 teachers have been killed in militants’ attacks in the region . . . Read More

Afghanistan: Radical Islamist groups recruit at universities

The Taliban continues to launch deadly attacks, most recently on Wednesday in the capital Kabul where at least 15 people were killed in a suicide attack.(Photo: Getty Images)
While the Afghan government is engaged in peace talks with the hard-line Taliban movement, radical Islamist groups are spreading their ideology at universities. Basira Akhtar, a 22-year-old student, was beaten up twice earlier this year, at her university in the capital Kabul, when her headscarf slipped from her head. In . . . Read More

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

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

China: Christian students under pressure to give up their faith

Group of Chinese students on Tiananmen Square, in front of the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)
Municipal authorities in a city in China’s northern Hebei province have been given directions on how to handle students and teachers who express their religious beliefs, reports religious-liberty magazine Bitter Winter. Foreign teachers and students are not allowed to preach or promote religion, and local students are prohibited from speaking . . . Read More

Persecution of minority Christian women ‘hidden, complex, and interwoven with “everyday” discrimination’

Women's suffering because of their faith is often in daily life. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)
Five new reports – about Egypt, Ethiopia, Iraq, Colombia and the Central African Republic – unmask the multiple domestic, societal and state dynamics used in the persecution of Christian women and girls in each country. When viewed individually, the tactics used against women – from subtle discrimination surrounding access to . . . Read More

Young Ethiopian Christians ‘bribed’ to convert to Islam, says charity

Ethiopia Orthodox Church
Young Ethiopian Christians are bribed with jobs and education prospects if they convert to Islam, according to the UK-based charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN). A Christian religious leader who wished to remain anonymous told ACN that Christians who are poor were especially targeted. “The [Muslim employers] are . . . Read More