The Church adopts 18 brick slave girls and celebrates their marriages

A group of women who worked in brickyards, unable to cover the expenses of a wedding, entrusted their daughters to the Pentecostal Church. A community event was held at the beginning of the month. The hope is that the girls will thus have a chance to avoid the spiral of poverty for their families.

Sheikhupura () – The Pentecostal Church of Pakistan organized collective marriages for 18 girls from Christian families who worked in conditions almost of slavery in a brick kiln in the district of Sheikhupura, in the province of Punjab. The event was held on December 6, 2024 and brought relief and hope to these young women and their families.

The church’s decision came after a pastoral visit in January of this year, explained Pastor Matti Karamat, director of missions for the Pentecostal Church. During a religious service, a group of women told Pastor Jamil Nasir, national head of the Pentecostal Church, about their living conditions. Working in the bakery for a paltry salary, half of which goes to paying off endless debts, the women said they could not cope with their daily needs, let alone those related to their daughters’ marriage. Concerned about the future of the young women, the mothers asked the Church for help to prevent their daughters from also ending up trapped in the spiral of poverty and slavery.

Thus, the Church decided to adopt the 18 girls as its daughters, assuming all responsibility for their marriages. In addition to defraying the expenses of the ceremonies, he provided the dowries, including furniture, electronics and kitchen utensils, and also organized the wedding reception. The event followed local traditions, and the bride and groom were warmly received by the families of the bride and groom and the ecclesiastical community. “This is the month of Christmas and the Prince of Peace has arranged everything for these girls,” commented the Reverend Matti Karamat.

The Muslims in the area, including the owners of the kilns, were also impressed by the event. One of them visited the pastor the next day, bringing sweets in gratitude. “I have never seen such a beautiful event in the district,” he said, praising the authentic and genuine joy on the families’ faces.

“The brides walked escorted by the shepherds, indicating that they had become their daughters,” commented Reverend Karamat. The Pentecostal Church is not new to these types of acts of solidarity. In the past, it had already organized collective marriages for persecuted Christian girls, such as in 2013 in Badami Bagh, Lahore, and in 2023 in Jaranwala, where sectarian violence destroyed dozens of churches and Christian homes. “We must adopt poor girls as our daughters, to protect them and show them our deep love, as Jesus taught us,” added Reverend Karamat.