Nun from Pakistan battles oppression

Sister Norris Nawab, PBVM, lifted her fingers to her mouth to draw an invisible covering over her lips in illustration. She was describing to The Evangelist two gunmen who entered the offices of the Justice and Peace Commission in Karachi, Pakistan, intent on killing the eight people working there.

"They scotch-taped their mouths, tied them to a chair -- like this -- and shot them," she explained. "Here."

She brought her finger to her temple, her thumb drawing back the trigger on an imaginary weapon and fell silent.

Life in Pakistan

Sister Norris, chairperson of the Justice and Peace Commission of the Major Religious Superiors' Leadership Conference of Pakistan, passed through the Capital Region last week to visit friends. She had just spoken against forced labor in Pakistan at a session on human rights held at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.

Pakistani Christians account for two percent of the population in Pakistan, an overwhelmingly Muslim country, she explained. Christians are subject to a number of discriminatory laws: They must drink from separate water taps; they are subject to blasphemy laws; they cannot be promoted in the army; until recently, minorities could vote only for candidates of their own faith, not for Muslims.

In addition, laws decree that two non-Muslim male or four non-Muslim female court witnesses are the equal of only one male Muslim witness.

Cut off

"Christians are all cut off. They cannot relate [to one another]. It affects your whole life." Sister Norris said. "In Pakistan, we are considered Christians, not Pakistanis. We are not given jobs, educational opportunities or any benefits. When we go to other countries, we are considered Pakistani, but not in our own country. There, we are untouchable."

Christian children sent to state schools learn only Islam, she explained, and are "not treated well." If Christian parents want their children to be educated in their faith, they pay for tuition at Catholic or Protestant schools.

"The [state] school syllabus is full of prejudice and intolerance," she said. Children "are taught that the mosque is the only house of prayer. They are all the time teaching, 'You are Muslim.' Basic human rights are not mentioned in the syllabus."

On a mission

Sister Norris does advocacy work "because I am from a poor family, and my family struggled to educate us. We were ten -- six brothers, four sisters. My parents were farmers, and they sent us all to [Catholic] school."

After taking her vows, she helped to create and educate women's groups, reading them Bible stories about capable women.

"I used to encourage them, tell them that they could do wonderful things," she said. "I told them that God made us all equal, that women are the ones who build up society and family and country. I felt one with them."

Working for peace

Sister Norris and other members of the Justice and Peace Commission schedule rallies, conferences and seminars on peace issues; campaign against foreign debt; and fight for the rights of sanitary workers, agricultural workers and the families who work in brick kilns.

The commission is also vocal in opposing what they consider a shameful record of child labor, prostitution, bonded labor and human trafficking in Pakistan.

Sister Norris is preparing to fight the introduction of genetically altered crops to Pakistani agriculture, convinced that such action would not only wipe out traditional strains developed and cultivated over the years by families and communities, but also ruin the soil itself.

"It is coming," she predicted. "By force, it will be there. The people have no say. Once they sow the seed on one farm, you cannot sow another seed. It will destroy the soil."

Blasphemy laws

The Justice and Peace Commission also opposes Pakistan's blasphemy laws, which decree that those who insult the prophet Mohammed or his family, or deface the Qu'ran can be punished by life imprisonment or death. The laws are misused against minorities, the commission claims.

In April, for example, a Pakistani Catholic was sentenced to life in prison for allegedly throwing rocks at Quranic verses inscribed on a wall. The man, who is illiterate, claims that he was framed.

"We try to make people aware of what [the law] entails," she said. "The government of the United States should put pressure on Pakistan to abolish the blasphemy law. I would like the American people to understand the poor people of underdeveloped countries and be sympathetic toward them, to help them live as human beings. I feel that the American people are ignorant of the basic needs of Pakistanis and how they survive. I feel that they never look out of the window at the rest of the world."

Hopes

While the members of the Justice and Peace Commission are at risk for their work and their faith, "we trust in God," Sister Norris said. "We remain Christians, and God is with us. Whatever comes is a challenge, and we'll take the risks. We are working for a just society."

She believes that there is hope for religious tolerance in Pakistan. She cites a peace conference her commission held last December; it was attended by hundreds of Muslims, Christians and other minorities. They listened to speeches and talked with one another.

"At the end, we held a meal," she said. "Everybody celebrated that day. Everybody. Christians and Muslims together."

(7/03/03) [[In-content Ad]]