“When I was a child, I was tortured cruelly. I was forced to sleep with ugly old men. I tried to run away, but they threw knives and plates at me.", says Laura. So begins Laura's story of her unfair start in life. Unfortunately, Laura is just one of many women in Central Asia who experience oppression, discrimination and exploitation every day. For security reasons, we cannot disclose Laura's real name or the country where the story takes place.
Challenging to be a woman in Central Asia
The situation for women in Central Asia is very difficult. They are often pressured to marry at a very young age, and some are subsequently abandoned by their husbands who go abroad to find work due to the region's crisis-ridden and stagnant economy. Due to a lack of education, women struggle to find work and are often forced into prostitution to support their families. The women's difficult situation also makes them vulnerable to trafficking.
Laura has a similar story of a father choosing to leave the family and a mother struggling to provide for them. Due to the family's difficult financial situation, Laura has to drop out of school and is later kicked out of her home. Laura then comes into contact with some drug addicts who force her to sell drugs.
Another sexual assault
“One summer I was raped. I was visiting someone's house and was going to spend the night. Then some drug addicts came to the house and they were drunk. They started making fun of me, ripped my clothes off, took out a knife and threatened me. Then they hit me with the knife and beat me up.." Laura continues: "When I was raped, I was so unhappy, that I didn't even know, where I was. I was alone and felt, I didn't have a mom or dad because they weren't there for me, when it happened. I felt alone and wanted to kill myself. But then I thought of God and I knew, that he would save me. I knew, that if I trusted in Him, everything would be okay", says Laura.
Laura gets new hope
Laura is brought to the shelter supported by the donors of the Danish European Mission where she receives help. She says: "I feel good here, better than that, I came from. I want to start a new life and forget everything from the past. I want to start a new life and have a job.”
The Danish European Mission runs the shelter in collaboration with local persecuted Christians who feel a strong call from God to help vulnerable women out of prostitution and degradation. Here, the women receive counseling to restore their self-esteem and job training so they can earn money in a dignified way in the future, for example as seamstresses, cooks and hairdressers. The women are given renewed hope for a better future. You can help ensure that even more women can be saved by praying and supporting the 'Vulnerable Women in the Muslim World' project. Thank you to anyone who wants to support this work. Watch the full interview with Laura in the video above.
