Open Doors discusses religious persecution with UN

The Christian human rights organization on Thursday discussed religious persecution of women and girls internationally with United Nations officials and human rights activists. Poland’s ambassadors to the United Nations hosted the discussion, which took place on an international day for remembering victims of religious persecution. More than 50 people attended the virtual event, Open Doors CEO Ryan Brown told WORLD on Thursday. Most of the attendees held either government offices or positions in non-governmental organizations internationally, Brown said.

Does Open Doors usually participate in events like this? The organization often is invited to share information about international persecution, Brown said. The organization’s World Watch List ranks the 50 countries where Christians experience the most religious persecution. North Korea, Somalia, and Lybia currently occupy the top three slots on the list. Yemen, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran are also top persecutors.

Why did this event specifically focus on the persecution of females? Thursday’s discussion primarily focused on the plight of women and girls facing religious persecution. Religious persecution takes different forms against members of the two biological sexes, Open Doors explained in a 2024 report. The methods of persecution confronting women and girls are much more complex and multifaceted than the methods men face.

In many countries, women and girls who are members of religious minorities face forced marriages, sexual violence, and abduction because of their beliefs, according to Open Doors’ report. Females also face psychological and physical violence. Meanwhile, men often face persecution in the form of physical violence, imprisonment, and workplace harassment, the report said.

Religious persecution of men is often much more public, Brown said. Meanwhile, women often face intense persecution behind closed doors.

“We can’t allow our understanding of persecution to be only limited to those more public displays,” Brown told WORLD. “Whether persecution is expressed in public or private, it is all very real and needs to be part of our responses in both prayer and policy.”