Burkina Faso: Christian Women and Girls Don Burqas To Protect Themselves from Violent Islamist Radicals

A priest in Burkina Faso has said that burqas are necessary for Christian women and girls to protect themselves from Islamic fanatics.

Father Wenceslao Belem, a priest, reported to the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need that despite a decrease in jihadist violence since 2015, extremist groups are still terrorising the Christian people and pressing them to convert to Islam.

The priest claims that Catholic nurses disguise themselves as Muslims while visiting patients and that Christian girls must wear full face coverings to school to prevent being attacked or abducted.

Priest Belem reported that over 2,000 educational institutions had been shut down. They try to convert secular institutions into schools teaching the Quran.

“They attack Catholic schools, killing or abducting Christians, especially catechists, priests and committed laypeople.

“And they want to force women to wear full face veils, regardless of their religion.

“Many Christian girls have to wear veils to school in order to avoid being branded, maligned, beaten or even kidnapped.”

Churches are guarded because of the constant fear of terrorist attacks, Father Belem said.

He added: “The terrorists mine the roads that lead to the villages to prevent us and the military from having access.”

Providing pastoral care for the people of Burkina Faso is dangerous work, as terrorist organisations control half of the country.

Unknown gunmen shot and killed Father Jacques Yaro Zerbo on his way to a funeral on January 2, 2023.

Antonio Cesar Fernandez, a Spanish missionary, was killed in 2021 by a cell of Islamic extremists.

In 2019, two months after another priest, Father Joel Yougbare, was kidnapped, Father Simeon Yampa and five parishioners were murdered after Sunday Mass.

Father Belem once observed, “Before going out on pastoral missions, we pray intensely, receive the sacraments, and go to confession, in case we do not return.”

About 19% of Burkina Faso’s population identifies as Catholic, and they increasingly turn to the radio for Mass and catechesis.

Thousands of schools are shuttered, numerous churches aren’t doing services, and there are more than 1.7 million people who have been forced to flee their homes in Burkina Faso, Father Belem said.

“Facing this threat requires both courage and imagination. [Nurses] continue to care for people who need medical attention and who are often left in villages, with no resources.”

With that, he said, “We believe that evil will not have the last word.”