A school in Faisalabad was also set on fire, but was put out again. In 2010, the Danish European Mission sought funding for the construction of this school from Danida, administered by what is now called the Center for Church Development Work. In addition, Danish European Mission donors provided significant support. The reason for the attacks are claims that Christians have violated the Koran.
Unfortunately, it comes as no surprise that Christians are subjected to violent attacks in Pakistan. The country is a so-called fragile state where the authorities have often failed to protect Christians and other vulnerable minorities from physical attacks.
Other minorities, such as Ahmadiyya and Shia Muslims, who together with Christians make up just under 4 % of the population, are also vulnerable, including to accusations of blasphemy laws that are applied in outrageous ways. One example is a Buddhist Sri Lankan man, Priyantha Kumara, who worked in the city of Sialkot. He was charged under the blasphemy laws simply because he had taken down a poster with a Muslim message from a wall in his workplace, even though the poster was not supposed to hang where it did. The Sri Lankan was beaten to death and then burned by a crowd.
Girls from minority backgrounds are at risk
Even very young minority girls are at risk. The Associated Press reported in 2020 that around 1,000 minority girls are kidnapped annually in Pakistan. After kidnapping, the girls are forcibly married to older men and forcibly converted to Islam. One example is Sitara, a Christian girl who was forcibly converted at the age of 15 and married to a 60-year-old Muslim man.
Mullahs marry couples according to Islamic law and corrupt authorities turn a blind eye to underage girls being married against their will. Transparency International estimated in 2022 that Pakistan will rank 140th on its list of the world's least corrupt countries.
Since 2005, donors to the Danish European Mission have ensured that thousands of poor Christian girls have attended sewing schools where they have been equipped to start their own businesses. Two schools have also been founded and support has been provided for schooling at Christian independent schools. In this way, the vulnerable Christian minority gets concrete help for self-help.
