June 8th, 2010

Muslim teachers at a girls school have ridiculed and beaten Christian students, pressuring them to convert to Islam and forcing them to clean school bathrooms and classrooms after class hours, according to area Christians. Muslim teachers at Government Higher Secondary School in village No. 79-NB (Northern Branch), Sargodha, have abused Christian students so much that two have dropped out, said a 16-year-old student identified only as Sana. “Christian students are teased and mocked by radical Muslim female teachers from the start of the school day to the end,” she said. “Christian students feel dejected, depressed and frustrated. I am totally broken-hearted because of the intolerance and discrimination.”

Rebecca Bhatti, a 16-year-old grade 10 student, told Compass she left the government school because teachers and the principal would call Christian girls into the staff room at recess and demand that they polish their shoes or wash their undergarments and other clothes. “If any girl turned down the orders of any of the Muslim teachers, they were punished,” Bhatti said as she spilled tears. Questioned about the abuses, principal Ferhat Naz told Compass that she would discipline teachers if an enquiry found the accusations to be true, but local residents called for an independent investigation as Naz herself is among the accused.
Please LIFT UP your prayers for Christian students in Pakistan who face ridicule and physical abuse for their faith in Christ. Pray for courage and strength to endure this persecution. Pray that God would lead the students to forgive the teachers who are abusing them. Pray that through their witness many will see the love of God.