Three Ways You Empower Persecuted Women in Asia!
Being a woman of the persecuted church can be filled with so much strife – they can be treated as second class citizens, abused by their husbands, trafficked or sold as brides, or left to fend for their children and themselves when they’re disowned by their own loved ones for their faith. But even in these difficult circumstances, God continues to pursue them, reminding them that they are seen, known, and loved.
On March 8, International Women’s Day, we celebrate the work of God in the lives of the women of the persecuted church in Asia, made possible by your constant prayers and support.
In the Philippines, you help restore their dignity
Most believers from Muslim backgrounds often do not have sustainable jobs or livelihoods to support their families. With your help, Open Doors provides an opportunity for these Muslim Background Believers (MBBs) to receive a sustainable daily income through the Kalohatan Mat Project (KMP) in Southern Philippines.
This project’s main beneficiaries are women from one of the poorest ethnic groups in the area. This ethnic group makes most of its money from boat fishing, but their efforts are frequently undermined by sea pirates and prejudice from other tribes. Throughout the years, the government has labeled them as DOME people—deprived, oppressed, maltreated, and exploited. However, these people endured and have not lost their sense of hope. The word for hope in their language is ‘Kaholatan,’ which inspired the project’s name.
Through KMP, 15 MBB women have honed their natural talent for weaving using pandan leaves, and have learned how to sew on high-speed sewing machines. Because of this, the women can provide for their families’ needs, and can confidently send their children to school.
Merita, one participant in this project, says:
“I did not expect that God will bless me with this kind of living, and I can buy my family things that we need. Before being a Christian and working in KMP, we did not experience having the means to buy our needs. It is a different experience to live in Christ. It gives meaning to your life.”
In Vietnam, you strengthen their families
“God changed my husband and children, they love and respect me more than before,” says Binh*, a participant of Priscilla Women’s Training.
The Priscilla Women’s training in Vietnam is the response of Open Doors partners across the country for the need to disciple the women as they advance God’s kingdom. The curriculum is designed to establish women in the faith and affirm their worth in Christ.
The life-changing workshops empower Vietnamese Christian tribal women from remote rural areas in the Highlands, Central and the North as they realize their God-given role in the family, society, and the church. The last three modules of the program emphasize family strengthening, with the husbands of women trainees joining in these marriage modules.
Huong*, another partipant shares, “The more we learn the Word of God through this program, the more valuable things we discover, helping our spiritual life to grow more mature. We learned that there are many things that needed to be changed by God so that we could live to please God and benefit others, bringing many people to Him.”
She added that many problems that they thought were unsolvable in their married life were discussed. Huong said, “The touching part was the time of ‘re-engagement’ which enabled us to once again commit ourselves to God and to each other, to renew our marriage in the love of God, so that through our family, God’s name was revealed to those around us.”
Binh and Huong were among the 1,634 women trained in Vietnam by OD local partners in 2021.
The discipleship training brought on changes not only to the women’s lives but to their families as well. Alcoholic husbands, who abused their wives and children physically and verbally, gave up drinking. Now, their homes are free from maltreatment, and it is filled with laughter instead of crying.
Meanwhile, other women like Ma* became successful witnesses for the Lord . She learned to grow more loving and helpful as each lesson in the training brings different changes for her. Now, Ma is empowering other women by teaching them what she had learned.
“Thank God for the good lessons,” she said.
The lessons were easy to understand because there were local interpreters. In hotspot areas, they conducted the trainings mostly in the churches in town instead of in the village to avoid more persecution.
One of the participants said, “We thank God and His servants who are teachers and benefactors who have helped us so much, from compiling these series of valuable and useful documents to helping us financially so we can have heartwarming meals and fellowship together.”
Open Doors local partners’ goal is to reach 2,786 women in 2022.
In Bangladesh, you enable them to teach
Rasheda Begum (45) from northern Bangladesh is a very passionate woman. She is from a Muslim background, and she lives in the northern part of the country with her elderly mother and teenage son. Her husband passed away when their son was born, and she has been a single mother since.
Choosing to follow Jesus was only the beginning of what would be years of active service in various ministries. Rasheda is a teacher of the Adult Literacy Class, and she also works with a local NGO where she works among the women in her community to build social awareness.
It is already difficult for a woman to lead in a male-dominant society, but being a believer from a different religious background made things even more challenging. Almost every day, Rasheda is faced with constant mocking, bullying, and discrimination by the people in her village. But Rasheda never gives up hope:
“I have to face many challenges every day. People do not take me positively that I am active in society. They do not like that I have a good relationship with my neighbours, and I stand with them when they need help.
“When I started my Adult Literacy class the villagers, especially the Muslim leaders tried to stop me. They brought many false accusations against me but none of them they could prove. They tried to attack me because I did not listen to them. I was continuing my work.
“I only fear my Lord. I have given my life to the Lord. My life is for the Lord. I do not fear the village leaders. I cannot stop my work that was entrusted by the Lord just because of the villagers’ threat.”
Rasheda tries her best to apply the skills and learnings she has gained from the Adult Literacy Training. She finds it very interesting and easy to reach out to the women and relate to them using the Bible.
“They are very inspired by the stories from the Bible. They heard some stories before in short but not details and never see the stories in [the Bible]. I utilize the skills and learnings I have gained from Adult Literacy. I tell the stories from the Bible and help them to relate to their personal life. Reading the story, most of them are overwhelmed and touched. They want more to learn and listen to such wonderful stories from the Bible. The class is mixed with MBBs and Muslims. At the end of the year, my students receive Jesus Christ as their Lord in their personal life. Some of them are following Jesus Christ in secret since their family members are Muslims.”
During the Pandemic, Rasheda has supported her students with food and blankets.
“I always try to support and encourage women to be independent, think freely, see freely. In my cell groups, we meet regularly, share our problems and experiences, pray together. They freely share with me and request me to pray for them which they even do not share with their husbands or family members. They trust me a lot, though their husbands do not like me and my work.”
In 2021, Rasheda baptized 7 women who are from Muslim families, and they came to know about Jesus Christ from the Adult Literacy Class. Some women have already received Jesus Christ in their life and now spiritually taking preparation for baptism. Now they are influencing their family, regularly reading the Bible, and teaching their children. Praise God!
