13 Photos From Afghanistan

Afghanistan, a Muslim majority nation with a population of 32.5 million, has a Christian population of only a few thousand. Muslims who convert to Christianity face persecution from their society, friends and even their own family.

Years of war and a strong influence from Islamic extremists have devastated this largely tribal nation. The government is occupied fighting the Taliban, Opium production is nearly the only stable source of income and education is almost non-existent.

Find out more about the situation for Christians in Afghanistan here, and check out these 13 photos that show daily life in Afghanistan.

Women, poverty and the persecuted church…

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress. – James 1:27

Recently I have been researching and reflecting on the circumstances of women around the world. Here are some astonishing statistics from the Poverty is Sexist report from One.org to get you thinking: 

• Only about 20% of poor rural girls in Africa complete primary education.
• In many countries women in paid work earn 10–30% less than men.
• 39,000 girls under the age of 18 become child brides every day.
• A woman in Sierra Leone is 183 times more likely to die giving birth than a woman in Switzerland.

Some of you might be thinking, “Okay sure, women are more deeply affected by poverty – but what has that got to do with persecuted Christian women?” Well – a lot!

World Watch List: North Korea, Iraq and Syria among Top 10 hardest places to be a Christian…

One important part of our ministry over many recent years has been the annual Open Doors World Watch List. Since 2003, through research conducted by contacts and leaders in the field, Open Doors have ranked the top 50 countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian.

Although Open Doors and our supporters have been aware of the suffering faced by Christians for many decades, the past 12 months particularly, have seen a wave of persecution directed at Christian communities making international headlines:

• The Islamic State sweeping across Iraq and the civil war in Syria seeing scores killed and displacing hundreds of thousands of people.
• The April kidnapping of more than 250 girls from the predominately Christian village of Chibok in Nigeria.
• The imprisonment of Christian Meriam Ibrahim in Sudan.
• The brutal November murder of Christian couple Shama Bibi and Shehzad Masih in Pakistan – the list goes on and on.

The Top 10 countries where Christians face the most pressure and violence in 2015 are

Where are Christians most persecuted?

An estimated 100 million Christians worldwide are persecuted.

Update 20/02/2015:
Every year, Open Doors publishes the World Watch List, naming the top 50 countries where Christians are most persecuted. There are over 65 countries where Christians are persecuted for their faith. Here are the top 10 countries where Christians face the most persecution:

1. North Korea
2. Somalia
   3. Iraq
   4. Syria
3. Afghanistan
   6. Sudan
   7. Iran
4. Pakistan
   9. Eritrea
   10. Nigeria