Top image: Today, Zarina is a happy and exuberant woman who shares her faith with others. She dreams for her two children to get an education and a better life.
Four years ago, Zarina* fled barefoot in the dead of night with her two young children. This is what an emotional Zarina told me when I interviewed her during my recent trip to Central Asia. Zarina fled her husband, who wanted to buy their first-born son for 500 US dollars when his first wife, who was his legal wife, could not have children. In his drunken stupor at two o'clock in the morning, he said to Zarina while beating her: "If you don't disappear within five minutes, I will kill you".
In Central Asia, where the majority of the population is Muslim, polygamy is a common phenomenon. Although polygamy is not permitted by law, many women agree to become second or third wives as a form of social security due to the region's severe economic and demographic problems. Illegal marriages are performed in an Islamic ceremony. Under communism, women were equal to men, but today women are seen as inferior and it is common practice and accepted that men beat their wives, especially in traditional village communities. Women who have an illegal marriage and have children with their husbands are legally considered single mothers.
The shelter and Jesus save Zarina
Zarina manages to escape with her two children and find her way to the Danish European Mission donor-supported shelter in Central Asia (for security reasons we cannot name the country), where she is helped. The shelter is run by Christian women who are persecuted themselves, but against all odds reach out to other women with God's grace and restoring power. These women are driven by a strong sense of calling that translates into a tangible love for those in need in their communities.
Zarina's husband, a police officer, visits her at the shelter but is denied access. When the higher authorities discover that Zarina's husband is guilty of polygamy, he loses his job. His colleagues in the police force pressure him to leave town and he heads to Russia.
At the shelter, Zarina gets a respite so she can concentrate on her children and receive help to recover from her traumatic experiences. "After two months, when I was less stressed, I heard about Jesus in the shelter. The housewives told me about Jesus and they prayed for me. They offered me prayer every day. I felt the need because I had kept so much inside myself. Every time they prayed for me, I let go and I cried and cried. They told me that this was the only God who could help me, so I accepted Jesus", says Zarina. After two years, Zarina was baptized and started going to church.
Image right: When Zarina came to the shelter, she struggled with reading, writing and arithmetic as she only had three years of schooling. Today, she is a chef and has no trouble figuring out the prices of the goods she buys in the bazaar.
Zarina no longer feels fear
In spring 2017, Zarina's husband visits her again. Zarina says: "The first few times he called me, I was very scared. I wondered how he could find my number. He said to me: Whether you like it or not, I will chase you. I will follow you. I answered him: I am not the person I used to be. HIf you hurt us, I will do everything I can to protect us. I have rights and I can fight for them. He replied: Oh, I can hear in your voice that you are confident, and I replied: Yes, of course I'm confident now. Then he stopped bothering us. I carethey to be really weak and føjeof him in everything, but now I am protected by God". Before Zarina came to the shelter, she didn't know her rights.
"When I came here, my eyes were opened and I started to feel like a woman and not a slave", says Zarina. "I couldn't understand that I was valuable, but my self-esteem started to grow as I began to realize that I am a child of God and that I have value in his eyes", continues Zarina.
On a daily basis, Zarina shares the gospel with the other women at the shelter. She no longer lives at the shelter, but she is employed as a chef and cooks for the women.
Thank you to everyone who is willing to contribute financially to the shelter, ensuring that battered women can have a new beginning. In our project, women like Zarina receive job training, counseling, legal and medical assistance, and shelter. Here, women discover, perhaps for the first time, that they have value.
*The name Zarina is made up for security reasons.
