Imprisoned for her Faith...Within her own Home.

Sanjana grew up in an Islamic household in an agricultural community in Upper Egypt.  In her family, violence was a way of life.  They had a reputation of being a family of fighters, who used guns to settle conflicts.  However, Sanjana was always moved by how her Coptic Christian classmates humbly accepted beatings and never struck back, or even gave in to hate.  At age 13, Sanjana began to ask one of her Christian neighbors about their faith.  Sanjana's neighbor explained their faith to her for the next two years and gave her a copy of the Gospel of Matthew, which she hid from her family.  Eventually, Sanjana became convinced about the Truth of the Gospel and chose to give her life to Christ.  

Sanjana's family soon realized that something was off when she had stopped saying her daily Islamic prayers.  When Sanjana decided to confess to them that she has accepted Christ, her father immediately began to beat her and demand that she convert back to Islam.  Unfortunately, Sanjana not only found herself being rejected by her family, but also the local Coptic Church.  When Sanjana tried to attend the church, she was refused because many Coptic Churches in the region fear being infiltrated by false converts from Islam who in truth seek to carryout terrorist attacks against the churches.  Sadly, this was only the beginning of Sanjana's ordeal.

When Sanjana refused to recant her Christian faith, her father locked her in a room in their house for the next three years.  For three years Sanjana endured starvation and constant beating from her father and other relatives.  These beatings resulted in her suffering a broken arm, neck & shoulder fractures, and acid burns on her arm that her family used to try and remove a cross tattoo that she received after her conversion.  Her arms today still bear the scars and twisted bones that resulted from her family's abuse.  

Eventually, Sanjana's family decided on the ultimate measure of humiliation.  They brought in a local Imam to try and bring her back to Islam and told the Imam that if Sanjana would not recant her faith, then he had their permission to rape her.  The Imam did just that.  Ironically, horrific incident is what gave Sanjana her chance to escape.  Sanjana's younger sister was so moved by her faith that after the rape too converted and became a believer in Christ.  After the rape, Sanjana's sister helped her escape, and they both fled together.  Unfortunately, Sanjana's family soon found her, dragged her back home, and nearly beat her to death.  They then forcibly married her to a Muslim man, who took over the beatings for the family and tried to force her back to Islam.  However, when he found that he could not do so, he divorced Sanjana and forced her back into the streets.  

It was on the streets that Sanjana found a pastor who was supported by Voice of the Martyrs.  This pastor helped find shelter with another Christian family.  It was through this family that Sanjana met and married her current husband, also a convert to Christianity.  Today Sanjana is baptized and works part-time as a tailor to help make ends meet.  Though still rejected by most of her family and the society around her, the peace that she found in Christ continues to sustain her.  

Source

"Unwilling to Escape Suffering."  The Voice of the Martyrs.  October 2021.