Our Sisters

Our Sisters is a deeply moving and courageous book. Anna Townsend sheds light on the painful reality of abduction, forced conversion and coerced marriages that Christian girls and women face in Pakistan. Yet she writes with compassion and hope, honouring the strength and resilience of these women. With careful research and personal storytelling, Townsend compels us to confront injustice and respond. This book is a call to action - one that urges us to stand for faith, freedom and dignity. A must-read for anyone who values human rights and the gospel's call to defend the vulnerable. Anna Townsend's powerful book sheds light on the harrowing realities faced by religious minority women and girls in Pakistan. Stories of abductions, forced conversions and forced marriages have too often been silenced. Through a masterful blend of investigative journalism and compassionate storytelling, Townsend not only brings these stories to light but gives them the dignity of being heard. Drawing from firsthand accounts and rigorous field research, Townsend reveals the layers of trauma endured by victims - about young girls torn from their families, stripped of their faith and forced into lives of subjugation. The narrative is punctuated by moments of profound resilience: the whispered prayers of a mother fighting to reclaim her daughter, the quiet defiance of a young girl refusing to renounce her faith, and the unyielding courage of families seeking justice against all odds. This book is more than an exposé; it is a call for global awareness and intervention. It urges policymakers, human rights advocates, and global citizens to confront this crisis with the urgency it deserves. A profoundly important read, this book challenges our collective conscience and demands that we not only listen but act. Townsend has given a voice to the silenced, and it is incumbent upon us all to ensure that voice is heard. In Our Sisters, Anna Townsend embarks on an enlightening journey through time and across the world, guided by the Holy Spirit and a vivid memory of a previous classmate's shocking disclosure, to collect the stories of courageous and resilient young Pakistani Christian girls who have survived the harrowing atrocity of child marriage against all odds. She also looks at the men and women who put their lives and careers on the line to rescue victims and move mountains within the justice system. They strive towards a Pakistan which proudly displays its colourful and textured social tapestry and empowers those who have been relegated to the frayed edges for far too long.