Voice of the Martyrs, October 24th, 2024
Goma Kunwar in Nepal has suffered repeated beatings and mistreatment at the hands of her Hindu husband since putting her faith in Christ in 2022. More than once, his attacks have been life-threatening.
On Jan. 2, 2024, Goma’s husband beat her badly and attacked her with a sickle, cutting her head so that she required medical treatment. Despite the abuse, Goma does not want to leave the Lord.
Pray that she will receive the physical and emotional care she needs; that her husband, Tek Bahadur, will come to faith in Jesus Christ; and that her faithfulness to the Lord will be a testimony to the friends and neighbours who are urging her to give up her faith.
The government of Nepal is taking an increasingly strong stand against religious conversion. Despite the 2015 constitution that guaranteed religious freedom, Parliament criminalized converting someone to another religion. Christian communities are small, but they boldly witness for Christ despite harassment and risk.
Nepal is a collectivist culture in which significant decisions are made by the head of the family or the community leader; decisions by other individuals are unacceptable and opposed.
Families, communities, Marxist groups and Hindu groups pressure Christians, who also experience some government interference. Muslims and Buddhists also persecute Christians, especially in response to evangelism and conversions in rural areas.