Christian journalist rewarded in Nepal

On July 4, the Christian Journalist Fellowship Nepal (CJF-Nepal) honored Christian journalist, Dinesh Shresthra, with an award that recognizes "journalists who shed light on marginalized, oppressed and neglected groups and who make a contribution meaningful to the Christian community. 

International Christian Concern (ICC) reports that earlier this month, on July 4, a Christian journalist, Dinesh Shresthra, editor of a bi-monthly magazine in Nepal, was honored by the Christian Journalist Fellowship Nepal (CJF-Nepal).

The organization awarded him a journalism prize, the “Padre Ganga Prasad Pradhan”, which bears the name of Nepal's first Christian pastor, as well as a sum of money, the amount of which is not specified.

This award recognizes “the efforts of journalists who shine a light on marginalized, oppressed and neglected groups and who make a significant contribution to the Christian community”.

ICC says Dinesh Shresthra is among the Christians who continue to "carry on the legacy of Ganga Prasad Pradhan" in the country through "journalism and many other avenues" despite the persecution which has "worsened in recent years". years ".

Nepal is ranked 48th in theGlobal Index of Persecution of Christians 2022 from the NGO Portes Ouvertes. The organization indicates that although according to its Constitution, "Nepal is a multi-ethnic, multi-linguistic, multi-religious and multi-cultural State", "an article of this same Constitution prohibits changing one's religion and the penal code punishes any religious activity likely to harm public order and morality”.

She also claims that they are considered "second-class citizens" who live "under the threat of the Anti-Conversion Law which sentences to jail, fine or deportation anyone who 'causes the conversion of a individual to another religion.

Camille Westphal Perrier