Police are searching for a religious 'healer' who reportedly convinced a pregnant woman that hammering a 2-inch nail into her skull would give her a son

Authorities in Peshawar, Pakistan, are looking for a supposed faith healer, accusing him of persuading a pregnant woman to hammer a nail into her head to guarantee the birth of a son, according to news reports.

The Peshawar news outlet Dawn first reported the bizarre case. According to Dawn, the unnamed woman had three daughters and was desperate to give birth to a son because she was afraid her husband would leave her if she had another girl.

She then approached an unlicensed religious healer, who advised her to hammer a nail into her head.

Male children are preferred among some populations in Asia, where dowries and the concept of having a male child to carry on the family name are especially valued.

Family members heard the woman screaming in pain and tried to remove the nail but could not. They eventually took her to the hospital, Dawn reported.

Dr. Haider Suleman Khan, the resident neurosurgeon at Lady Reading Hospital, told the media outlet that when the woman arrived at the hospital, doctors successfully removed the nail in an operation.