Nora

Nora was born into a Muslim family in Pakistan, where her father had retired from the army.
When her brother fell seriously ill, she began praying to Jesus for his healing. Shortly after, a
stranger arrived at their door, offering to donate the blood her brother needed. Seeing this as a
miracle, Nora’s faith in Jesus grew stronger, leading her to pray even more. Eventually, she
converted to Christianity and married a Christian man.
In Pakistan, religious affiliation is recorded on identity documents, including passports, which
are issued by NADRA, the national government authority for identification. However, NADRA
does not permit Muslims to change their religious status to any other faith. The consequence
was that her marriage could not be registered—Pakistani law forbids Muslim women from
marrying Christian men. Consequently, her two children were also left undocumented.
Nora chose not to register her children as Muslims, nor to change her husband’s religious status
to Islam, knowing that doing so would put their faith in serious danger. For a person officially
registered as a Muslim, openly practicing Christianity—attending church, reading the Bible,
singing Christian hymns—could be seen recognized as an apostate, and many Muslims would
feel it as their religious duty to kill her. This fear compelled Nora to move far away from those
who knew her past and to avoid using any identity papers that showed her religion as Muslim.
Without documents, life for Nora and her children was challenging. They were unable to enroll
in school, open bank accounts, get a normal job, or even get married legally. Yet Nora held firmly
to her faith, placing her trust in God.
Voice for Justice took up her case, and after nearly two years of persistent legal efforts,
successfully helped Nora change her religious status from Islam to Christianity within NADRA’s
records. With her new documentation, Nora was finally able to apply for identity documents for
herself and her children. She remains deeply grateful and is now the proud mother of a third
child.