National Geographic features dissident nuns’ impact
Kottayam: The National Geographic has featured the five dissident nuns of the St Francis Mission Home, Kuravilangadu, who stood by a collegue allegedly raped by Jalandhar Diocese Bishop Franco Mulakkal among the women who made an impact around the globe.
The article titled 'Around the world, women are taking charge of their future’ in the Oct 15 edition of the 130-year-old prestigious magazine carries an image of Sisters Alphy, Nina Rose, Ancitta, Anupama and Josephine in a jovial mood holding each other.
The article by Rania Abouzeid subtitled ‘Defiant Sisters’ says their superiors keep pressuring them to keep quiet and stop making trouble, but they refuse.
“When a nun in Kerala told church leaders multiple times that a bishop had raped her repeatedly, nothing happened, so she turned to the police. Months later, in September 2018, these fellow nuns joined a two-week protest outside the Kerala High Court,” it says.
“The bishop, who maintains his innocence, eventually was arrested. Instead of supporting the nuns, the church cut off the protesting nuns’ monthly allowance."
Others featured include an animal tracker in Kenya, a peace advocate in France and the country's first Muslim woman mayor, an astrophysicist in the US, a home weaver, a sustainable farmer and accessibility champion in Jordan and a village head in India.
