Pakistan: Middle-Aged Christian Woman Jailed for Blasphemy
by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – A 50-year-old Christian woman in Punjab Province, Pakistan has been jailed after being charged with committing blasphemy by allegedly burning books containing Islamic scripture, Morning Star News (MSN) reports.
The mother of two children, Shazia Younis was arrested by Gojra Saddar police in Toba Tek Singh District, Punjab Province on December 21, MSN reports. She was accused by local mosque leader Atta Ul Mustafa of burning Islamic books outside her home in Chak No. 180-GB Mongi Bangla village. She was then charged under Section 295-B of Pakistan’s widely condemned blasphemy law with insulting Islam. Shazia faces life imprisonment if convicted.
Hardline Islamists have abused Pakistani blasphemy laws to persecute Christians and this exact alleged crime has been brought against believers in the past.
“Pakistan’s notorious blasphemy laws are often used to target minority groups, but Christians are disproportionately affected,” the Open Doors international Christian advocacy organization explains in a 2024 website report. “Indeed, roughly a quarter of all blasphemy accusations target Christians, who only make up 1.8% of the population.”
In a statement to MSN, Gojra-based attorney Haneef Matto said Shazia was sent into judicial custody on the day of her arrest. “According to their neighbors, Shazia’s husband Younis and her two sons, one of whom is married, have gone underground due to security fears. They are a poor family, and Shazia’s husband and sons earn a livelihood as daily wage laborers.”
Ruled by an Islamic regime with harsh blasphemy laws, Pakistan ranks 7 on the US Open Doors World Watch List 2024 of the top 50 countries where Christians are persecuted.
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