Middle East – Where religious and cultural tensions run high, Christian minorities face unique struggles in the heart of the Middle East. Amid these struggles, women bear the burden of being both believers and females in a region where they are often treated as third-class citizens. Yet they find their strength in silence and sometimes isolated from their entire families and communities. The following stories of six brave Christian women we’ve come alongside of are testaments to the resilience and strength that they find in the Lord, in light of the trauma they’ve experienced.

LAILA

Laila, a 43 year old widow, did not have support from her community after her husband died. She was uneducated and didn’t have much job experience.

“I tried hard to find a job and worked in a sewing factory, where it was long working hours and little pay. But we were content with what we had,” she said.

That was until she was laid off due to rising costs and inflation. She found work for a Muslim family as a housemaid and was treated well for awhile. The family decided to host a large birthday party for their 20-year-old son, and due to the extra work, Laila enlisted the help of her teenage daughter for the night of the party. Laila was serving food when she had a realization.

“Suddenly, I looked around and did not find my daughter. I went looking for her, and heard muffled screams and found the birthday boy trying to rape her. His mother came in and said, ‘Let him do what he wants, and we will pay you. You are Christians and have no morals.’ When I gathered my strength, I shouted to call for help from the guests, but the family accused my daughter of theft. No one believed me.”

Laila was out of a job with no means to provide for her daughter. ICC helped her start a clothing and linen business so she was able to leave the household and support her family.

“I would like to thank our Lord because even in the midst of the most difficult situations, God saved us and never abandoned us. I want to thank you for the project you provided for me,” said Laila.

SAMIRA

“My problem started after my husband died when I had to work. I worked in a room service in a small hotel downtown. I was exposed to a lot of harassment,” said Samira. “One day, I delivered an order to a room and was about to take the elevator. One of the guests was following me and took the elevator with me and offered me sex for money. I asked the owner of the hotel to move me out of room service, as I could no longer tolerate customer harassment. His response was, ‘You are young and beautiful and you can make money working in room service, but you have to be smart.’ My request was rejected, so I left work.”

With little work experience, Samira’s job options were limited, and many other options for inexperienced women often involved risks involving harassment that can lead to violence.

“All I want is to live in the fear of God and be able to provide for my three children,” she said.

After hearing of her struggle to find a safe job, ICC helped her start her own small business to sell clothes and other goods to customers to independently provide for her family.

“Thanks to you, I can now work on my own business and support my children. I hope you remember me in your prayers and thank you for your help,” said Samira.

MIRIAM

“My name is Miriam. I married a widower with children. Throughout our marriage, I took care of his children, as well as the children we had together. After my husband died, his children, who converted to Islam, kicked me out of the apartment. I went to church and they helped me by renting an apartment,” said Miriam.

She continued to tell us her story. “The area where the apartment is, is in a slum. Christians are a minority and Muslims are extremists. However, I had no choice. The church paid the rent, and I found work as a cleaner. Of course, it was not easy for a woman to live alone with her two daughters in an area like this. I have a Muslim neighbor who is always harassing me. In the end, I’m an adult and I can protect myself, but the neighbor was always taking advantage of my absence at work and knocking on my daughters’ door. Because I always warn my daughters never to open the door to anyone, they did not respond to him.”

“A month ago, on my daughters’ way back from school, this neighbor was waiting for them near the house. He told them to go with him and said I sent him to bring them to our relatives house. They were terrified and ran home,” she said.

Since then, she has not gone to work in fear of the neighbor returning to do worse. ICC helped Miriam start a small business to tailor clothes out of her home so that she can stay home and make a living for her family, while protecting her daughters.

“I would like to thank you for your help. And now I feel reassured about my daughters because I do not have to leave them alone for long hours and they will go with me everywhere. I thank God that He responded to me, looked at my weakness, and supported me,” said Miriam.

FATIMA

“I got married to my husband and we were very happy, but that happiness did not last long. We were Christians in a majority- Muslim area,” Fatima began as she told her harrowing story with us.

“I was subjected to a lot of harassment that would be difficult for any young woman to endure. They were uttering obscene words and threats, such as, ‘We will bring you to us, and Islam is the solution for people like you.’ A lot of things happened like this, and I was afraid to tell my husband because I didn’t want to get him in trouble. I hoped that they would limit themselves to verbally expressing their hatred for us Christians, but no.

“More than that, they tried many times to take advantage of my husband going out to work and knocking on my door. At that time, I felt that I could not bear my fear, so I decided to tell my husband. I called him while he was at work and told him someone was talking from behind the door and telling me that he won’t leave me alone. I told my husband everything. He came quickly and when he arrived home, there were three men waiting for him outside.

“They beat him on the head and body with a stick, causing him to lose consciousness. After he fell to the ground, the attackers fled…I told him that when I screamed and threatened to go to the police, they said, ‘You Christians, you worshipers of the cross, will not be able to do anything. This is our city and we will cleanse it of people like you. Either you are with us, or you are against us, and whoever resists us will not live.’

“We spent the night praying to God to save us from them, and when we slept, one of them entered through the window and turned on the gas in the apartment, intending for us to die of suffocations. But we felt it, thanks to God. He didn’t enter our room. We fled our home to the city where my uncle lives. My husband has been working for two months, but I dream that we will get help renting an apartment in which my husband and I can live, and that we will leave my uncle’s house,” said Fatima.

“We have been through difficult times and were terrified of extremists. But now we feel safe, and we thank you for supporting us. May our Lord bless you.”

HANNA

Hanna comes from a Muslim family, but received Jesus as her Savior when she was 17 years old. Secretly, Hanna grew in faith and lived for Christ, but did not tell anyone in her family for fear of them turning on her.

Her family married her to a Muslim man, and she could not refuse. Hanna lived with her husband and raised her three children. She constantly took them to church and baptized them and they received Jesus as their Savior.

Unfortunately, Hanna’s husband discovered her and her children’s faith. He threatened to take everything away, and slowly did that, one by one. Her oldest son went off to Ukraine for school and joined the military when the war started to make income for himself and send to his mother.

Hanna received the news of her son’s death. Since then, her husband has refused to give her and her surviving daughters any money and she has no means of making money. Her husband kicked her out of the home and kept her daughters, who desperately wish to live with their mother.

“This is my story,” said Hanna. “I do not know what to do. I am a mother who lost my son because of his father, and I am also about to lose my daughters because of him. I hope to get help to rent a flat so my daughters would live with me so I can protect them from their cruel father.”

ICC helped Hanna with rent and now her two daughters live with her.

“I would like to thank God and thank you for this apartment because we were desperate. But thanks to your generous support, I have a place to live. Now my daughters can live with me and leave their evil father,” said Hanna.

SARAH

“My story begins when my husband met a Muslim woman. His behavior changed and he became abusive toward me and would disappear for days,” said Sarah. “After that, he converted to Islam, divorced me, and left me and my children to shame, disgrace, and need. I spent the worst days of my life, and then I decided to leave my hometown and move so that I could support my children away from their father.

“I work in cleaning houses and stairs, and I receive a small wage that is barely enough for us. I have difficulties paying the rent.”

In order to help her move away from her abusive ex-husband, ICC helped pay for Sarah’s rent.

“I want to thank you very much for the help you have given me. Because of your project, we will not need anyone’s help as I work as a cleaner and we can live with the money I earn. I thank God for answering my prayers,” said Sarah.
Sources:persecution

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