Healer drives nail into pregnant woman's head in Pakistan: he guaranteed she would give birth to a boy
Eva Deschamps / February 9, 2022
A pregnant woman presented herself in a Pakistani hospital with a nail stuck in her head by a healer who had guaranteed that she would give birth to a boy, a medical source said Wednesday.
The woman arrived at a hospital in Peshawar, northwestern Pakistan, after trying to remove the nail herself, Dr. Haider Khan, who treated her, told AFP.
She was fully conscious, but in great pain, he said. An X-ray showed that the nail had been driven five centimeters into the skull, without reaching the brain.
Traditional healers, whose practices are often rooted in Sufi mysticism, are common in Pakistan, a predominantly Muslim country, even though various Islamic schools of thought disapprove of these rites.
In South Asia, having a boy is often considered a good omen, as he is supposed to be better able to secure his parents' financial future than a girl.
Pakistani police are now seeking to question the woman. We will soon get hold of the witch doctor, Peshawar police chief Abbas Ahsan promised AFP.