Pray4Pashtuns Ramadan2024

Day 11-Pashtun Women

• For the many women with little access to education and healthcare to have access to Jesus through dreams, radio, videos, answered prayer and oral storytelling.
• For creative ways to engage with educated, modern Pashtun women.
• For every Pashtun woman to have an opportunity to encounter the love of Christ.

LUKE 7:50

“And he said to the woman, ‘Your faith has saved you; go in peace.’”

***Pray that God will provide believing spouses for Pashtun believers who are still single. Pray that their families will not present them to marry unbelievers and for strength to stand when they do.Php 2:1  So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, Php 2:2  complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 

TRIBAL WATCH The Yousafzai tribe is one of the largest, most influential Pashtun tribes. They are found in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa & the Provincially Administered Tribal Areas (PATA) of Pakistan and some eastern
parts of Afghanistan. One of the most famous members of the Yousafzai tribe in recent times is the 15 year old girl, Malala, who was shot by Taliban militants on her way home from school. She said at the UN ‘I am not against anyone, neither am I here to speak in terms of personal revenge against the Taliban
or any other terrorist group. I do not even hate the Talib who shot me. Even if there is a gun in my hand & he stands in front of me,I would not shoot him.’

Pray for many Yousafzai to hear the good news and come the faith and lead many to faith.

More Reading:

In the twenty-first century, Pashtun culture is changing. Globalization, urbanization, displacement, and economic pressures have brought new ideas and practices into Pashtun homes, for women as well as men. These changes have affected women’s lives to a lesser degree in Afghanistan and in rural areas, but in the cities and especially in Pakistan the impact is seen. Each Pashtun woman’s life is uniquely shaped by her place of birth, her family’s social status, her opportunities for education and employment, and the freedoms given to her to engage with the world outside her home.

In Afghanistan and rural Pakistan, an increasing number of Pashtun girls are enjoying an education until the 12th grade. However, by then they may already be engaged, and the new in-laws are pressuring for a wedding date. Thankfully, many fathers allow them to graduate from 12th grade before their wedding. Education is being valued more and more, but many men’s perspective remains that women don’t need to read and write to cook delicious Kabuli Palaw and Mantu [traditional Pashtun dishes]. Because of the ongoing war in Afghanistan, the male population has decreased, and parents are concerned their daughters will not find a good match before they become too old. Girls who reject proposals while they are 15 or 16 have to consider marrying a widower or becoming a second wife in their late ‘20s.

Some Pashtun girls can attend university. But for strict families who apply Purdah (separation of men and women), only private universities are considered appropriate and they are too expensive. If a young unmarried woman with university education does have the opportunity to work for a few years, once she marries her life usually shifts to the home. She will serve her mother-in-law, bear children, and be in the background. She will rarely leave the compound because she will cook for the guests, nurse, and care for her children. Women in the villages have the additional tasks of gathering firewood, collecting water, tending animals, and helping in the fields. These women are considered among the most unreached subset of the Pashtuns, as they are sequestered in their homes, with limited access to information from the outside world. How will these women hear that God sees them and loves them?

Today a growing number of passionate and determined Pashtun women have entered the workforce as entrepreneurs, teachers, bankers, doctors, engineers, journalists, community leaders, politicians and much more. Together with their families they are reshaping the codes of Pashto to fit modern life. All Pashtun women have an immense influence on their families as daughters, sisters, wives, mothers, aunts, and grandmothers. May Pashtun women come to know their identity in Christ and use their influence to spread his kingdom of peace to the generations to come.