Hopes & Dreams for Central Asian Women

by Hannah Teague, Creative Director

While developing this issue, we sat down with cross-cultural worker and new Frontier Fellowship Associate Director, Rita Johnson, who spent over a decade serving in Central Asia. We’re grateful to share from her insights and hope this brief look at some of the joys and challenges of Central Asian women will inspire your prayers for God’s Kingdom to come to this region of the world.

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Long beneath the weight of social and political conflict, conservative Islam, poverty, decades of Soviet rule and limited religious freedom, Central Asia remains physically and spiritually one of the world’s last frontiers. It’s a massive landscape with hot, dry summers and harsh winters, busy urban centers and remote regions where villages are few and far between. Life here is often difficult, particularly for women, and many families struggle to survive in the midst of food scarcity and lack of economic opportunity. But just as the emblematic snowdrop flowers spring up each year when the cold starts to thaw, beauty persists in this rugged, resilient place.

And when spring finally comes, it brings the hope of reawakening, a new beginning. The ancient Persian New Year festival of Nowruz, celebrated throughout Iran, Central Asia and beyond, begins on the first day of spring and commemorates nature’s rebirth and the renewal of relationships. It honors diverse cultural and religious heritages in the spirit of fostering community and strengthening the ties of family and friendship.

In many ways, Nowruz symbolizes some of the most meaningful aspects of Central Asian life, strengths through which we can glimpse God’s Kingdom even where Jesus is not yet known. It’s rare for many of us to expect hopeful stories coming from this part of the world. Yet what might we discover by asking God to open our eyes and hearts to behold His glory here and care more deeply for the women who bear His image?

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The “Soviet Shadow” cast by nearly 70 years of Communism has had enduring impact on life in Central Asia. While it brought the benefits of increased education, infrastructure and industry, it contributed to extensive cultural loss and lasting damage to the economy and environment. It also continues to influence the government’s repression of Christians, Muslims and minority religions, perceiving a threat in any group that holds too strongly to a particular set of beliefs. In some respects, Muslims are under greater scrutiny due to ISIS’ active recruitment in Central Asia and the presence of other radical groups.

But Central Asia’s story begins far before the brokenness of its recent history. It sits at the geographical crossroads of some of the world’s greatest empires, home to the Silk Road routes through which traveled people, goods and ideas that shaped cultures and nations for thousands of years to come. As we consider God’s Kingdom through the lens of Central Asian culture, recognizing the beauty and perspective it contributes to our understanding of who He is, we dream of a whole and liberated Church finding expression here.

There’s a popular Persian proverb: “A guest is a gift from God.” Echoed throughout Central Asia, this belief influences the way a table is set, what food is served and how care is shown to guests, no matter how unexpected their arrival. Hospitality is rich and generous, extended without reservation and embracing even of strangers. It’s considered an honor to receive a guest, and women keep their homes prepared so they can be ready at a moment’s notice to lay out a spread of dried fruit, nuts, bread and tea for anyone who comes through their door.

This warmth and liberality overflow from a strong culture of generosity. If a neighbor comes to borrow bread, it’s given freely without question. Providing for the needs of others, especially the poor, is considered important even when families are struggling to get by.

Few Westerners have experienced the bond of kinship to the degree it’s expressed in Central Asia. Extended families traditionally live together, an arrangement which carries both obligation and commitment to each other. When families are functioning healthily, family members work together for the good of the household, serving, supporting and celebrating with each other. Sometimes the bonds of biological family are stretched to include friends who become kin over many cups of tea and by walking alongside one another during significant seasons in the family’s life.

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Yet these beautiful characteristics exist alongside many challenges for women, who face inequality and marginalization throughout most aspects of life and have relative voicelessness in many formal and traditional power structures.

In village settings, women are typically married between the ages of 18 and 20 and enter their husband’s family where they work for the household under the authority of their mothers-in-law. Most of the responsibilities of the house fall to the new bride, and she’s also expected to get pregnant during the first year of marriage. Since extended families generally live together, a young woman must navigate the relationship with her mother-in-law as well as her ranking among the other daughters-in-law. A mother-in-law’s disposition determines much of a young woman’s life after she’s married.

While it varies from nation to nation, violence against women is common. Trafficking, bride kidnapping, early marriage and domestic abuse persist in many places. Domestic violence is especially likely in situations with an alcoholic husband or a highly dysfunctional extended family. There are also significantly fewer resources available to women than elsewhere in the world, and they face more barriers to reaching out for help. Most police aren’t trained to handle abusive situations, although some non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are beginning to offer training to improve domestic violence response.

Some marriages are religious only and have no legal standing, leaving few protections in the case of divorce or abandonment. It’s not uncommon for men working as migrants to have two separate families or leave their first wife and marry another in Russia, only sending news of the divorce by text message. In cases like these, the future of a woman and her children depends on the relationship with her in-laws or her own family’s willingness to risk possible shame by intervening.

Islam, the primary religion across Central Asia, often places heavy burdens on women. Largely influenced by folk-cultural beliefs with no clear lines between culture and religion, much of Central Asian Islam is a mix of traditional practices and Quranic law. There’s little access to the Good News of Jesus, and millions of people live without knowledge of His message of grace.

When we imagine what Good News could mean to a Central Asian woman, we see her experiencing value beyond her role as a housewife or mother. We envision her becoming aware of how beloved she is by God and knowing He isn’t indifferent to her circumstances. The promise of Christ removing the shame of sin and giving His righteousness rings true in a society that prizes a “shining face,” evidence of an honorable life.

Relationships are some of the primary channels through which God is making His love known to Central Asian women. Christians (often from a Muslim background) are reaching out to their friends and neighbors, inviting them into their homes for tea and sharing stories and songs based on scripture. Female expat and NGO workers are also finding ways to support women in their communities through initiatives to give them greater agency and help their families thrive. Through outreach like this, Central Asian women are beginning to experience God’s grace, even if it’s not yet fully grasped.

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The reality for many Central Asian women is a life of struggle. The majority of them live under a burden of law without access to the Good News of Jesus. They face numerous barriers that make it difficult to dream of a better life for themselves or their children.

Yet God’s grace is reaching wider and deeper than we might think. Families are experiencing reconciliation. Some progress is being made toward gender equality and greater opportunities for women through government and humanitarian efforts. Hospitality and generosity and kinship point to the welcome, extravagance and belonging of God’s Kingdom.

Like eagerly awaiting spring, we long for Central Asian women to experience flourishing through the hope of the Gospel—Good News that exchanges struggle and exclusion for freedom and dignity. In Christ, we find that winter is not eternal as He awakens us to abundant new life, at peace with God and one another.