Esther John ( ur, ), born Qamar Zia (Urdu: ), on 14 December 1929; died 2 February 1960) was a Pakistani Christian nurse who was murdered in 1960 for her efforts in Christian evangelism. She was subsequently recognized as a

Christian martyr In Christianity, a martyr is a person considered to have died because of their testimony for Jesus or faith in Jesus. In years of the early church, stories depict this often occurring through death by sawing, stoning, crucifixion, burning at t ...

. In 1998, she was honoured with a statue above the great west door of

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the Unite ...

, among nine other

s of the twentieth century.

Early life

Qamar Zia was born into an Islamic family on 14 December 1929, in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

. She attended a

Christian school A Christian school is a school run on Christian principles or by a Christian organization. The nature of Christian schools varies enormously from country to country, according to the religious, educational, and political cultures. In some count ...

from the age of seventeen, and was so inspired by the Book of Isaiah that she decided to convert to

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

Career

After the partition of colonial India, Zia's family migrated from Madras in independent India to the newly-born

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

in 1947. She continued to study the Bible in secret, and seven years later ran away from home, fearing that her family would force her into a marriage. She took a job in an orphanage in Laugesen,

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...

, and changed her name to Esther John. In June 1955, she moved to

Sahiwal Sahiwal ( Punjabi and ur, ), formerly known as Montgomery, is a city in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the 21st largest city of Pakistan by population and the administrative capital of both Sahiwal District and Sahiwal Division. Sahiwal is appro ...

, where she lived and worked in a mission hospital. From 1956 to 1959, she trained to be a teacher at the United Bible Training Centre in Gujranwala, then spent the remainder of her life evangelizing in the villages around Chichawatni.

Death

Due to her efforts in Christian evangelism, Esther John was murdered in her bed on 2 February 1960, at her home in Chichawatni. She was buried at the Christian cemetery at Sahiwal. As such, she is recognized as a

. In 1998, ten statues were unveiled above the great west door of

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, depicting ten 20th century Christian martyrs. Esther John was among them, alongside such figures as

Óscar Romero Óscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdámez (15 August 1917 – 24 March 1980) was a prelate of the Catholic Church in El Salvador. He served as Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of San Salvador, the Titular Bishop of Tambeae, as Bishop of Santiago ...

and

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...

References

External links

Esther John
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Voice of the Martyrs The Voice of the Martyrs (VOM) is an international nonprofit organization whose mission is to defend the human rights of persecuted Christians. History The organization was founded in 1967 by Richard Wurmbrand, a Lutheran priest, also a Pente ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:John, Esther 1929 births 1960 deaths Converts to Protestantism from Islam Pakistani Presbyterians Pakistani Christians Pakistani former Muslims People from Chichawatni Pakistani nurses