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A Narikuravar woman walking through her hometown of Mappedu in Chennai, India.

‘I hope that my husband will let me go to church’: the tension between tradition and religious freedom for women in the Narikuravar community

Posted on 20/04/2023 by cswpress in Asia, India

Every morning after finishing her household chores, 17-year-old Deepa* walks into a small thatched building in Mappedu, Chennai. This is where Christians belonging to the indigenous Narikuravar community in Mappedu have been gathering for prayer meetings and Sunday services for more than a decade.

Deepa has been attending these meetings since she was a child. She loved learning Bible verses, sharing her testimony and singing songs. But there was a huge price to pay. To this day, she has been facing significant opposition from her parents, to the point that she has been physically abused because she continues attending church

Deepa told CSW: ‘My parents used to scold me and beat me up since I started going to church, but I would still go. We had fights at home everyday. They would swear at me, threaten me with dire consequences and beat me up. I would just pour my heart out to God and keep praying. When I told them I was going to get baptised, they were furious. I’ve now decided to wait a little longer to get baptised.’

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Maria Concepción, a member of the Great Commission Baptist Church in Rancho Nuevo in the Huejutla de los Reyes Municipality of Hidalgo state, Mexico.

Tras el brutal ataque a uno de los suyos, la comunidad que es minoría religiosa en México espera justicia y libertad religiosa

Posted on 19/04/202303/05/2023 by cswpress in español, Latin America ES, Mexico ES

María Concepción Hernández Hernández comenzó el 2023 en el hospital después de un brutal ataque físico que está relacionado con ser parte de la minoría religiosa en su comunidad. El 1 de enero ingresó a cuidados intensivos debido a vómitos constantes que le impedían retener los alimentos. Pasó diez días allí antes de ser dada de alta brevemente solo para regresar a cuidados intensivos debido a vómitos con sangre el 18 de enero.

Como los médicos no reportaron ninguna mejoría al principio, su familia no veía mucha esperanza, hasta llegar al punto de que los miembros de su iglesia en Rancho Nuevo en el Municipio de Huejutla de los Reyes del estado de Hidalgo, México, habían limpiado un terreno. para su entierro.

Afortunadamente, ella salió adelante. Regresó a casa el 9 de febrero y hoy camina con la ayuda de su hijo y un bastón. Todavía sufre un dolor de espalda persistente causado por haber sido arrojada con fuerza contra el tronco de un árbol, pero su recuperación sigue siendo milagrosa.

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After a brutal attack on one of their own, a religious minority community in Mexico is waiting for justice and religious freedom

Posted on 17/04/202317/04/2023 by cswpress in Latin America, Mexico

Maria Concepción began 2023 in hospital recovering from a brutal physical attack that was linked to her membership of a religious minority in her community. On 1 January she was admitted to intensive care due to constant vomiting that meant she was unable to keep food down. She spent ten days there before she was briefly released only to be returned to intensive care due to vomiting blood on 18 January.

As doctors did not report any improvement at first, her family did not see much hope at all, to the point that members of her church in Rancho Nuevo in the Huejutla de los Reyes Municipality of Hidalgo state, Mexico, had cleared a piece of land for her burial.

Mercifully, she pulled through. She returned home on 9 February, and today she walks with the help of her son and a cane. She still suffers from persistent back pain caused by being forcefully thrown into the trunk of a tree, but her recovery remains nothing short of miraculous.

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Silenciados por defender a los oprimidos: defendiendo a los presos de conciencia de Vietnam

Posted on 17/04/2023 by cswpress in Asia ES, español, Vietnam ES

El Partido Comunista de Vietnam viola continuamente los derechos civiles y políticos de su pueblo. El derecho a la libertad de expresión, opinión y expresión está estrictamente restringido y reprimido, con poco o ningún espacio para la voz de la sociedad civil. El gobierno vietnamita encarcela regularmente a personas por su trabajo de derechos humanos, esto incluye la denuncia de la corrupción, la oferta de asistencia legal, la organización de protestas pacíficas y el uso de las redes sociales para abogar por cuestiones sociales y denunciar las injusticias sociales.

Muchos defensores y defensoras de los derechos humanos arriesgan su propia seguridad para defender a las víctimas de violaciones de derechos humanos, incluido el derecho a la libertad de religión o de creencias. Quienes hablan con frecuencia se enfrentan al acoso, la intimidación, la vigilancia intrusiva e incluso a el encarcelamiento por parte del gobierno vietnamita.

Seis de estos activistas son Nguyen Van Dai, Le Thu Ha, Nguyen Trung Ton, Nguyen Bac Truyen, Pham Van Troi y Truong Minh Duc. El 5 de abril de 2018, fueron juzgados acusados de “llevar a cabo actividades destinadas a derrocar al gobierno”, y recibieron penas de prisión de entre siete y 15 años.

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Man in black and white long sleeve shirt holding red stick in Sudan.

As Sudan forms a new transitional government, the international community must not repeat its mistakes

Posted on 12/04/2023 by cswpress in Sub-Saharan Africa, Sudan

April has become a significant month for the nation of Sudan. This year, after more than 18 months under the leadership of a military junta that seized power in October 2021, the month will hopefully see the formation of a new transitional government, and the possible dawn of a new chapter for the country.

But we have been here before. On 11 April 2019, after months of unprecedented nationwide protests, Sudan’s president of nearly 30 years, Omar al Bashir, was ousted.

It was hoped that his removal would bring an end to three decades of oppressive rule characterised by widespread violations of human rights, including of the right to freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) – and to some extent it did.

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