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Christian watchdog says abduction of Coptic Christian women and girls in Egypt is a “bane”

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – A Christian watchdog group has published a report describing the widespread trafficking and abduction of Coptic Christian women and girls in Egypt as a “bane”, CBN News reports. Coptic Solidarity released its report “Jihad of the Womb: Trafficking of Coptic Women & Girls in Egypt” last Thursday. The report will be submitted to United Nations agencies and the US Office for Trafficking in Persons.

Founded in 2010 to fight for Copts in Egypt to have equal citizenship rights, Coptic Solidarity says in its report that: “The capture and disappearance of Coptic women and minor girls is a bane of the Coptic community in Egypt, yet little has been done to address this scourge by the Egyptian or foreign governments, NGOs, or international bodies.”

“The large majority of these women are never reunited with their families or friends because police response in Egypt is dismissive and corrupt. There are countless families who report that police have either been complicit in the kidnapping or at the very least bribed into silence,” the report says.

Providing confirmation of the report from a journalist who has long covered the struggles of Copts in Egypt, CBN News quoted its own Chief International Correspondent Gary Lane: “Christian girls are often targeted by Muslim men in heavily Islamic countries like Egypt. Many are neighbors who charm impoverished Christian girls with kindness and gifts,” Lane said. “Attracted by the good looks and kindness of young Muslim men, the girls are lured away from their families based on empty promises of wealth and successful life. Some are raped and culturally that brings shame to their families. They see conversion to Islam and marriage as their only way out,” Lane explained.

The Coptic Solidarity report also highlights the Egyptian government’s inaction in the face of this criminality. The report decries the government’s reasons for not investigating, such as that the women left their homes voluntarily, CBN News reports. “Christians receive little help from Muslim law enforcement authorities—especially in small villages in Upper Egypt,” Lane confirmed.