Faith Healer Convinced Pregnant Woman That Hammering a Nail in Her Skull Would Result in Baby Boy, Doctors Say

[galiraju]

The pregnant woman was so desperate not to give birth to a fourth daughter that she consulted a faith healer, who said he knew just what to do: Hammer a two-inch nail into her skull.

The woman, who has not yet been identified by police, showed up at the Lady Reading Hospital in Pakistan this week with extensive bleeding from her skull. She at first told the Peshawar city medical staff she had been “advised” to recite chants and hammer the nail into her own skull to guarantee the gender of her unborn child would be male.

Upon further investigation, doctors became convinced that it would be impossible for such a self-inflicted wound, and determined that someone else had done the hammering.

The doctors did not go to police but rather posted images of the unusual head injury online. Police were alerted to the image and are now searching for the fake “aamil,” or faith healer, who advised the potentially fatal non-remedy.

They are also searching for help identifying the person who led the woman astray.

[Picheshwar]