Pakistani Christians have expressed joy and fear on news that Asia Bibi, Pakistan’s most famous blasphemy-law victim will finally have her long-awaited Supreme Court appeal heard during the second week of October.
Asia Bibi was brutally beaten after drinking water from a well that was specifically for the use of Muslims in highly discriminatory Pakistan.
‘Christ died for me’
Her mistake had been to offer water from the same well to Muslim co-workers who started to beat Asia, whilst cursing her and her faith. Asia could not take the insults made against Jesus her Lord, so she simply said ‘My Christ died for me, what did Muhammed do for you?’ The male co-workers were told about this and Asia Bibi was gang-raped for her alleged crime of blasphemy, beaten back to her home, where her children were later sexually molested. For her crime of blasphemy, which was induced by the demand of a local Imam, she was imprisoned under Pakistan's notorious blasphemy laws. She has now been incarcerated since June 2009 and has been sentenced to death since November 2010.
