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PERSECUTION.ORG
http://www.persecution.org
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http://www.assistnews.net/Stories/s06060046.htm

ASSIST News Service (ANS) - PO Box 609, Lake Forest, CA 92609-0609 USA
Visit our web site at: www.assistnews.net -- E-mail: danjuma1@aol.com

Thursday, June 8, 2006

Christian Women Reportedly Gang-Raped

By Jeremy Reynalds
Special Correspondent for ASSIST News Service

BHOPAL, INDIA (ANS) -- Two Christian women, one of them seven months pregnant, were reportedly gang-raped in a village in India as a result of their refusal to leave the Christian faith.

The two women, 22 and 24, say they were gang-raped in Nadia, a village in Madhya Pradesh state's Khargon district.

According to Salem Voice Ministries (SVM), the woman along with Pastor Sarachand Chauhan, met Governor Dr.Balram Jhakar and presented their case. The governor asked the Director General of Police and Chief Secretary to send him information about the alleged assault. He also asked for a report on action taken by officials.

SVM reported that Chauhan said a medical examination has confirmed the rapes, but for additional evidence the samples are being DNA tested.

The younger woman said, SVM reported, that the men went into her house at about 10 p.m. when she was alone, her husband having gone to meet a relative. "I ran out of the house and took shelter in the house of my neighbors," SVM stated she said. She added that despite her neighbor’s attempts to pacify the gang, the men still dragged her out to an open field.

The two men then stripped and both raped her. According to SVM, the rest of the gang stood around watching as the woman cried for help. When her husband and his friend rushed to help her, SVM said the woman reported that some of the gang members beat them with bamboo and wooden sticks.

Both women said the gang rape was in retaliation for their families' refusal to leave the Christian faith, SVM reported. Earlier that day, they said, the same men, whom they recognized as from the village, beat the husband of the younger woman and forced him to drink alcohol, while demanding that he renounce Christianity.

Chauhan said, SVM reported, that the normal custom of drinking liquor tribal is disallowed amongst tribal Christians. The gang members reportedly forced the women to drink liquor in an attempt to “defile the religion.”

SVM reported that the older woman, who said she is seven months pregnant, said the men overpowered her before she could run away or hide. After chasing her father-in-law from the house and beating her mother-in- law, who was trying to stop them, they reportedly dragged her outside, threw her on to a cot in front of the house and tore off her clothes. Three men then took turns raping her.

After the incident, SVM reported the the women and their family members were reportedly kept under “house arrest” by the alleged perpetrators. They threatened more attacks and even death if the matter was reported to the police.

However, SVM reported, after two days the women managed to flee the village and reported the incidents to law enforcement. The police refused to register their cases, SVM reported, as the men involved are politically powerful and belong to the ruling party. However, the alleged assault was officially documented after other officials got involved.

SVM reported that Christian believers face persecution and death in many countries today, especially in India. In the last 100 years, SVM stated that more Christians have been martyred for their faith than in the past 1900 years combined.

SVM is an evangelistic, inter-denominational organization dedicated to preaching the Gospel to Muslims, Hindus and others in the third world, as well as helping persecuted Christians.

For more information about SVM go to www.salemvoice.com
Jeremy Reynalds is a freelance writer and the founder and director of Joy Junction, New Mexico's largest emergency homeless shelter, http://www.joyjunction.org or http://www.christianity.com/joyjunction. He has a master's degree in communication from the University of New Mexico, and a Ph.D. in intercultural education from Biola University in Los Angeles. He has five children and lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico. For more information contact: Jeremy Reynalds at jgreynalds@aol.com. Tel: (505) 877-6967 or (505) 400-7145. Note: A higher resolution JPEG picture of Jeremy Reynalds is available on request from Dan Wooding at danjuma1@aol.com.
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