(CP) Persecution watchdog Open Doors has released its annual Gender Report revealing that forced marriage is becoming a “concerningly common practice” impacting Christian women worldwide.
The 2024 Gender Report, compiled by Open Doors’ global research team, draws attention to the marginalization of Christian women who live in countries ranked because the 50 most dangerous for Christian persecution.
The report highlights the oppression and violence they endure resulting from their gender and their faith in Christ, noting that forced marriage is a threat to Christian women and girls in an astounding 84% of the countries on the 2024 Open Doors World Watch List.Â
“This 12 months, faith-based forced marriage was identified as a risk for Christian women and girls in 84% of the WWL countries; a concerningly common practice,” researchers noted. “Forced marriage is a type of exploitation and control and in lots of contexts, this risk is interwoven with sexual violence.”
“For example, within the Horn of Africa, young female Christian converts from a Muslim background might be forced into marriage to maintain them from dishonoring their families for leaving the religion,” the reports add. “A regional expert notes that usually they’re forced to marry much older men. Sexual violence and compelled marriage are employed as a way of intimidation and control, with these strategies targeted at stopping Christian women and girls from pursuing their faith in Christ.”
A regional expert in Cameroon said that forced marriage is becoming a tactic for “intimidation and control in regions experiencing conflict-related challenges.”
“In areas [of Cameroon] affected by armed conflicts and spiritual tensions, Christians…[can be] at heightened risk of violence and exploitation,” the expert stated.
“In the Central African Republic, ‘Christian women and girls face heightened risks of rape … and compelled marriage during attacks by militants on civilian villages,” the report adds. A regional expert stated that “[i]nstances of sexual slavery for abducted girls are reported.”
Ryan Brown, the CEO of Open Doors USA, emphasized the gravity of the situation.
“Today, greater than 365 million people face real persecution and discrimination — unimaginable horrors every single day — for following Jesus,” he said. “And so lots of these faithful followers are courageous women — wives, moms, sisters and daughters —selecting this difficult path, selecting to remain true to the gospel, despite increased oppression and brutalities.”
The report identifies five primary “pressure points” for Christian women in these countries: forced marriage, sexual violence, physical violence, psychological violence and abduction.
The report notes that ladies will not be only at higher risk resulting from their Christian faith in WWL-listed countries but additionally face added risks due to their gender in environments fraught with violent insecurity.
Choosing to follow Jesus, researchers said, further elevates their vulnerability.
“As these courageous women face increased persecution, we’re witnessing their undying faith in Jesus all of the more,” said Open Doors US COO Sarah Cunningham. “Although widely with no voice and basic human rights, they serve an incomparable purpose within the Kingdom of God — shining a lightweight for Christ of their families and communities and showing us all what real faith looks like.”
Researchers found “reasons to be hopeful,” saying that historically, peace initiatives have been male-dominated and secular. However, as nearly half the world’s population is female and a overwhelming majority are religiously affiliated, there is a shift towards more “inclusive” peace processes, the report said.
“Through the unique agency of the church and the strategic position held by policymakers, change is feasible, and indeed already underway. This is an encouragement — in addition to an invite to hitch in,” the report said.
Open Doors advises the worldwide Church to “[a]cknowledge the extent of violence against Christian women and girls” to reinforce protection and justice for ladies and girls.
Helene Fisher, a gender persecution specialist with Open Doors USA, told The Christian Post in a 2019 interview that typically, persecution against women often revolves around the concept of ruining their sexual purity. Meanwhile, men are likely to suffer from types of economic harassment that may impact their place in society.
That 12 months, essentially the most common trend within the gender-specific persecution of Christians was the “targeted” raping of ladies solely for the aim of bringing shame upon their families and community.
“When they’re sexually assaulted, there may be a shame that’s brought upon them in society’s views. And they’re subsequently viewed as tainted, having no future and their family also lose this honor,” Fisher explained. “And sometimes their whole Christian community is seen as less helpful, less pure.”
While there are a lot of cases during which Christian women and girls have been abducted and compelled into marriage, women and girls who convert to Christianity can often be forced into marriages by their very own families, she said.
“Forced marriage is utilized by a family whose daughter has selected her own through some sort of exposure to Christianity, possibly via satellite or a friend somewhere or possibly she’s had a vision she has turned to Jesus and her family has came upon,” Fisher explained. “[They will] marry her to anyone from the mainstream religion, after which it becomes kind of his problem to make sure that that she adheres to the mainstream religion.”
