Sister Humaira’s Heart for God’s Daughters
On International Women’s Day on March 8th, Open Doors talked with Sister Humaira about her passion for training and discipling women of the Persecuted Church. As the Women’s Ministry and Gender Advocacy Lead for Asia, Sister Humaira designs curricula for women’s programs based on her own lived experiences of persecution, helping them know God on a more personal and intimate level.
Humaira's Why
“People will often say that I was born to serve women,” Humaira shares. “It helps that I was brought up with four sisters but the experiences I have had as a woman have also played an important part in preparing me for this work.”
Humaira lives in an Islamic country in Asia where being a woman presents many gender-specific challenges. “I praise God that I was born into a Christian home and that my parents raised me in a Godly atmosphere. I say this because, in Asia, there is a male biased culture where boys are always welcomed into the family and girls are perceived as inferior.
“I have found that if anything bad happens within my culture, it is always the woman who is blamed. My mother-in-law was sadly held responsible for everything that had happened within my husband’s family and for bringing shame on them.”
Many years ago, Sister Humaira introduced Jesus to her husband Ibrahim, who had been born and raised in a devout Muslim community. His family was furious – but Humaira stood by him in his darkest hours when his family accused him of bringing shame on their family and attempted to force him back into the Muslim faith. It was on Christmas morning of the year 2000 when Ibrahim’s family gave him a choice – return to Islam and leave both Jesus and his wife or suffer death.
He chose Jesus.
Unfortunately, this kind of suffering is too common. When families of Muslim converts learn about their new faith, they often cut off all ties with them, or try to kill them. “When I speak about these things, which are still happening today, it still brings tears to my eyes, but I praise God, because this June, [my husband and I] will celebrate twenty-four years of marriage. God is good.”
Despite the expected norms, Humaira’s parents, however, happily had four daughters and no sons. “They raised me in a godly atmosphere where I was valued for myself, despite my gender. Therefore, it is my goal to help as many women as I can through my work and the projects and training that I offer.”
Humaira's Preparation
“I realised that I was able to understand and support the Christian converts during their transition period because of my husband’s and my experience of conversion and my awareness of the social and cultural difficulties that this could entail,”
Humaira shares. “Looking back at my life before going to the seminary, God gave me the opportunity to work as a training manager with an NGO, which supported destitute women. The NGO also created microfinancing and other opportunities for the women. I worked there for seven years and following this I served in a women’s correction facility as part of my seminary training.”
After Humaira completed seminary training in 2011, she and Ibrahim returned to their home country, and they worked together for an [Open Doors partner organization]. At that time, Ibrahim only had one staff member, so Humaira helped him as a part-time consultant, because their baby was still small. She wanted to do something for the women in her community and God gave her this platform. She also saw that, as she lives in a patriarchal society, many women convert through their husbands, because this was what they were expected to do. “I found that it would be beneficial to them if they were grounded in their faith on their own terms.”
Humaira was given twenty-two women from the Muslim convert church to minister to. She quickly learnt that many could not read or write, and so the challenge presented was even greater than what she initially realized. Eventually, God gave her the opportunity to complete a diploma in Partnering in Ministry, which she used to help and empower the women.
“I created a module of simplified sessions, which, by God’s grace, allowed me to share the Good News with them. The women were so excited to learn, and each time they came, their faces were glowing with joy. It was beautiful to see them grow in God’s Word, even if we were forced to work in secret, so I kept writing more modules as I journeyed with them.
“Throughout the three-year training, the women grew in faith and received inner healing which enabled them to come to know that, as women and mothers, they are valued. They understood that their roles are close to God’s heart and learnt how to live in dignity and with hope.”
Humaira's Joy
From this first group of Sister Humaira’s disciples, seventeen women graduated and ten of those women started to replicate the training in their own house churches. And so, from this humble beginning, over five hundred women all over the country have gone through the same training and continue to blossom and develop. The discipleship program has answered a growing need for women to receive Sister Humaira’s ministry and so her training program is now offered to women in over five countries in south-east Asia and is continually growing! Praise God!
In addition to the training, Sister Humaira has been providing women’s conferences, persecution preparedness training, women’s prayer gatherings and livelihood projects which support women’s economic empowerment such as in south-east Asia, where a women’s center has been established to train women in tailoring, beadwork, and jewelry. The women’s center has also created a safe space for women to share their faith openly.
“Throughout the region, we are conducting a women’s day of prayer on an annual basis to support our work,” she shares.
“Last year, over one thousand women attended online to pray for the persecuted church. Additionally, every year, we are conducting at least three women’s conferences with over five hundred women. Many of them go on to replicate the same training in their local churches. The programs also bring employment to thirty-five female staff members who work hard to support our aims.”
“Right now, I am doing my doctorate in Ministry,” Humaira continues. “I am immensely proud to say that my husband is still encouraging me in the development of my education. We are good friends, my husband and I; we grew up together, we suffered together, and we have celebrated life together. We are thankful for everything. My husband is now collaborating with me in our mission. We work and grow together.”
Humaira's Hope
“My dream is to see all women, especially women in the persecuted church, well-rooted in the faith they have embraced and living with hope and dignity. I have a wish to see them equally valued and valuable,” Humaira shares. “I hope and pray that soon we will have at least one dedicated women’s ministry coordinator or core volunteer in each country of the Asia region who can build, equip, and disciple women at a grassroots level, to boldly live out their faith in Christ.”
She asks for prayers. “Please pray that God can use me to help other women in need and give me wisdom and strength so that I can continue to nurture and influence women to live in dignity and with hope. Women themselves need help and that help is something which, through God, I can bring. At the same time, I want the church to pray along with me that justice and equality will also be delivered, because we live in a very patriarchal society which damages women. May we pray that the church, and those that work within it, can have a positive and supportive influence to enable development. I say this not necessarily to change society, but because we want to influence the culture with the teachings of the Lord to develop communities within which women will be equally valued, and within which they will be treated equally. I really want to see this happen and feel that this is God’s original plan. This is his blueprint for creating women. Finally, I ask with my whole being that God will make me useful for his service and help me continue to grow with my sisters. This is my prayer.”
