Pakistan’s Parliament is considering a law that would outlaw domestic abuse, though it is currently locked in committee. The Associated Press reports “surveys have shown that up to 80 percent of wives in rural parts of Pakestan fear physical violnce from their husbands, while 50 percent of women in urban areas admit their husbands beat them, according to a 2009 Sate Department report on Pakistan.”[1] Though probably under-reported, in 2008 there were 7,571 reports of domestic abuse including rapes, beatings and other violence.” A cruel and common form of abuse is that of throwing acid on a woman’s face, thereby destroying not only her face but also her future.

          International news services bring us other distressing reports as well, such as that of a thirteen year old bride who died from gynecological injuries four days after her wedding. Although the husband was under arrest, the ultimate responsibility was laid upon a dowry system that desperately needs to be reformed in order to protect women.

          This is not the time to conclude that there is nothing that Christians can do to help others caught in the throes of such abuse. Only think of the persistent work of missionary William Carey in gaining legislation in India against the immmolation of widows on the funeral pyre of their dead husbands. It was a long and difficult fight, energized by Christian conviction. He viewed it as a necessary corollary to the Gospel.

          We can look well to our own ways here at home. How often we fail to proclaim the biblical condemnation of abuse, how often we ignore or deny or minimize its presence within our faith communities! We must build awareness of the scriptural mandates in churches and Bible studies, prayer groups and institutions of theological education. In one way or another, all of us come into contact with those from other cultures and nations. When we decide to speak out on the matter, we can have an impact around the world.

          Nayyar Shabana Kiyani, one of the architects of the bill observed “Laws are very good, but unless and until you change the mindset of the people, things won’t change”[2]  Our light must not be placed under a bushel.

[1] Nahal Toosi, “Pakistan moves closer to banning domestic abuse.” Boston Sunday Globe, April 18, 2010, page A9.

[2] Ibd.