How Blasphemy Accusations Are Used for Personal Revenge
In Pakistan, blasphemy laws are often used for the wrong reasons. Instead of protecting religion, people frequently use them as a weapon to settle personal scores, scare others, or get revenge. This is especially true for religious minorities, who are often targeted when they stand up for themselves or refuse to do what someone else wants.
A tragic example of this is the incident of Ms. Sumera, a Christian nurse whose life was completely turned upside down by a false accusation of blasphemy.
According to Ms. Sumera, the lies told about her had nothing to do with religion. They were actually the acts of a jealous coworker whose pride was hurt. Ms. Sumera worked hard for six years as a nurse at Bahria International Hospital in Rawalpindi. She was the only Christian nurse in her department, but she always focused on doing her job professionally.
However, things got difficult when her hard work was rewarded, Ms. Sumera stated that after she finished her nursing degree, the hospital administration promoted her. This promotion placed her in a higher position than her male colleague, Muhammad Usman
Usman was deeply angry and jealous about her promotion. Ms. Sumera stated that he started spreading nasty rumors about her in the hospital ward. He went around telling people that she wasn’t good at her job and that she was doing a terrible job managing her team
Ms. Sumera stated that she spoke to their boss and explained that Usman was lying because he was jealous When the boss realized that Usman had fabricated the claims, he gave him a final warning: if Usman lied again, he would be fired on the spot
The situation became dangerous on the evening of Friday, September 27, 2024. Ms. Sumera stated that around 9:00 p.m., just as she finished her shift and was heading to her hostel, Usman trapped her near the restroom
He grabbed her by force and tried to rape her, but she hit him on the hand with a pen and went to her hostel Ms. Sumera stated that only thirty minutes later, she got a call from a coworker warning her to run. Usman was already rallying an angry crowd. He was telling everyone that she had insulted the Prophet Muhammad and incited the hospital staff to attack her hostel
To save her life, Ms. Sumera had to escape in a taxi and take a night bus to Lahore On September 28, 2024, he lodged a false FIR and got others to issue a religious decree against her. The danger followed her to Lahore. Ms. Sumera stated that when she got home and told her family what happened, that same evening a huge, angry crowd gathered outside their house, chanting threats to kill her. To escape, the family had to sneak out through a neighbor’s house. They ran to an uncle’s house in Sheikhupura and stayed hidden there for ten days.
Eventually, a local church and we (Justice Forth Org), a human rights organization, stepped in to find a safe way out. Ms. Sumera’s case shows how easily religious laws can be used to punish a woman who simply was doing her job and did well in her career.
Justice Forth is calling on international human rights groups and refugee organizations to support Ms. Sumera and her family. We will continue to stand with survivors of false accusations and fight for those who are targeted by the misuse of these laws
