People pray as they gather for a ceremony on Christmas eve at Central Brooks Memorial Church in Karachi, Pakistan, December 24, 2016. | (Photo: Reuters/Akhtar Soomro)
Persecution of Christian women worldwide has risen dramatically in the last year as a new study released by Open Doors International found that forced marriages have increased by 16%, and physical violence against women has increased 31%.
Global persecution watchdog group Open Doors International released the 2021 “Same Faith, Different Persecution” report on gender-specific religious persecution ahead of International Women s Day finds(GSRP) to detail the plight of the global persecuted Church and how this especially affects women.
GSRP has risen to the highest level recorded in the three years since the report was first issued in 2018, as women face a higher potential risk of religious persecution than men. The report s data comes from the top 50 countries on the group s annual World Watch List between Oct.