Pakistan: Nail hammered into pregnant woman’s forehead to ensure baby boy

A faith healer in Pakistan’s Peshawar reportedly hammered a two-inch nail into the forehead of a pregnant woman so that she could deliver a baby boy.

Doctors at the Lady Reading Hospital said that the woman was in excruciating pain when she arrived at the hospital after efforts to extract the nail with pliers at home went in vain.

An X-ray revealed that the nail had penetrated the woman’s skull but missed her brain.

Neurologist Haider Suleman, who treated the victim at Lady Reading Hospital told Pakistani news outlet Dawn that the woman claimed that another woman from her locality, ultrasound had shown her unborn child to be a girl, gave birth to a boy after hammering a nail to her head.

According to reports, the woman had three daughters and her husband had threatened to divorce her because she would not bear a boy. She then approached the faith healer to ensure she delivers a baby boy.

The hospital staff said that initially, the woman said that she hammered the nail into the head herself but later claimed that the healer had done so.

The incident came to the knowledge of the police after images of her X-ray went viral on social media and an investigation has begun.

Police said that they are searching for the faith healer.