How your donations help to empower women
The sewing centre established in South India by Open Doors’ partners has become a wonderful tool for the empowerment of Christian women. It has become a glimmer of hope for many Christian women who live their lives in utmost poverty and oppression.
The centre is run by David* who coordinates and takes care of the sewing center. He shares with us how it all started. “I was so burdened in my heart when I saw many Christian women in my locality struggling to fend for their families as their husbands were not earning enough. Most of them were illiterate and had no option of acquiring a respectable job anywhere other than daily wage labour. Since several of these ladies were secret believers, I approached Open Doors’ partners who helped me set up this centre for them. At this tailoring centre, we provide them with detailed tailoring training. When they complete the course, most of them are capable of functioning as full-time tailors. Shweta was one lady whose life was impacted, through this centre.”
David continues, “It was last year that I had the privilege of meeting sister Shweta; she was a lady from another church in a nearby locality. She also introduced several ladies from her community who were believers and wanted to learn tailoring.”
Shweta’s story
Shweta, was a victim of heavy persecution herself. Her resilience and faith in Jesus enabled her to overcome her difficulties and emerge as a female leader in her church. With the new tailoring skills that she has acquired, she is further empowered.
Shweta recounts, “I belonged to a Christian family, but I got married to a person from a staunch Hindu family. I was humiliated every day because of my faith. My mother-in-law scolded me for petty things and physically abused me a lot. The abuse grew day by day. Sometimes I would go to my mother’s house to have some relief from the verbal and physical torment. I tried to put up with my struggles as I loved my husband and wanted to stay with him.
“Then one day, I was having a fever. My mother-in-law got to know about my sickness, and she said it was because of the bad omen brought in by my Christian faith. She said she would have to call a sorcerer who would do some ritual to free me from this bad omen.
Before I could even refuse, a sorcerer was summoned, and a ceremony was initiated. I was made to sit in the centre of the room. As the ceremony ended, my mother-in-law and other ladies from the family started slapping me and hitting me for no reason. They said they wanted to remove the unclean spirit from me.”
You can imagine how this affected Shweta. She continues, “That day was so traumatizing, I do not even want to recall that moment. I was already having a fever and the ladies kept on showering kicks and blows on me. They even used shoes and sandals to beat me. My eldest child was a little baby at that time, and she was lying on the floor next to me. I do not remember when I fainted, I woke up after several hours and when I opened my eyes I was in a hospital.”
It was Shweta’s mother who came to her rescue. Someone had called her anonymously and informed her of the horrible incident that took place in Shweta’s in-law’s house. However, it took 4 hours for her mother to reach the place.
“When my mom arrived to help me, I was unconscious and bleeding profusely from my forehead,” Shweta said. “I still shudder at the thought that my baby was near me and that she could have been hurt, but God protected her.” It took several months for Shweta to heal physically and spiritually, but the effects of the trauma lasted even longer.
“I had constant headaches and sometimes lost my senses and behaved erratically. The pastor’s family visited and counselled me regularly. It took me over a year to be able to think clearly and move on from the incident.”
As she continued to read the Bible and pray more, God was slowly delivering her and strengthening her. However Shweta felt heavy pressure from the community to go back to her husband, she had already turned him down twice. When he asked her to come back a third time, she went, because in India once you are married you belong to your in-law’s family. She looks back on this decision as a time she was filled with fear but full of faith as well.
Shweta’s husband prepared a small hut near his parent’s house and settled there with Shweta. Shweta was able to gradually forgive her in-laws.
She shares, “It was difficult to forgive, these were the people who had almost killed me! But I eventually grew to forgive them. I was able to show my love through my small acts of help repeatedly as my in-laws were elderly. They saw my attitude and were influenced. Now, about 5 years later, they talk to me nicely and often call me to their house. They acknowledge that they treated me wrongly in the past. They also ask me to pray for them when they are unwell.”
Why the sewing centre is a blessing
The way Shweta speaks about the sewing centre reflects how deeply grateful she is and how important the work is for these women.
“I am so glad that I had an opportunity to gain experience in tailoring here. I am almost through with the course, and I know how to stitch clothes now. I have started taking stitching orders and it helps me earn more and support my family.”
Shweta’s tailoring skills are helping her to become financially empowered. She proudly shares, “It is all His blessings, because of my earning, I can put my children in a better school. They are doing very well with their studies, and I am so sure they will have a good future.”
There are several other women like Shweta who have been able to attain tailoring skills and consequently have been enabled to earn good incomes.
David shares happily, “I never knew that an initiative as small as a tailoring centre could change lives forever. I only wanted to do something for these ladies who are held back in society. They have so many factors of persecution – firstly they are financially poor, secondly, they are women (women are considered second-class citizens in many societies), and thirdly they choose the Christian faith. I am so glad that this tailoring centre has enabled women to enhance their financial status. Not only this, but the centre is also a common place for persecuted Christian women from the nearby different localities to come together, to pray and learn from the Word before they start the training every day.”
Please Pray
- Pray that Open Doors partners can continue to see areas in their society that need help and let them have the wisdom and courage to fill the hole.
- Pray that David is well equipped to run the sewing shop and that he continues to reflect Christ in all he does
- Pray for India, that women are seen as equals and that the hearts of the community will be softened and they will learn about Jesus.
