When Batoul*, a young woman now in her late 20s, chose Jesus, she had no idea what she was getting into. Where she lives in North Africa (we can\u2019t disclose the specific country for security reasons), leaving Islam is seen as a betrayal of family and tribe. Batoul\u2019s mother and sisters repeatedly beat and ostracised her.<\/p>\n
After converting from Islam, Jorina, a young woman in northern Bangladesh, and her family were ostracised and subjected to humiliating rituals. Messaging from radical Islamic leaders gives her community the freedom to publicly humiliate her, even to the point of threatening Jorina\u2019s life.<\/p>\n
For Christians like Batoul and Jorina, their identity as a Christian and a woman puts them at risk. In addition to being doubly vulnerable on account of their faith and gender, they might also be targeted for their ethnicity, age, or for being displaced. Throughout the world, those opposed to God\u2019s people and the Gospel use whatever tool is most effective and accessible to destroy individuals in ways that ripple out to the family and community \u2013 ultimately attempting to cripple the Church.<\/p>\n
For Christian women, these tools take multiple forms but are typically hidden, often behind closed doors. On the surface, a woman\u2019s persecution experience may not always show, but as Batoul\u2019s and Jorina\u2019s stories reveal, Christian women and girls live with hidden, internal wounds. In places where women are seen as second-class citizens or are totally dependent on male relatives, they can be confined to the home by family members and forbidden from seeking a Christian community.<\/p>\n