By: Judith Jacob Siddharth
Shobana was born and raised in a poor Hindu family. The only meal that she would eat growing up was the meal given at the public school. As she grew to be a young girl the parents couldn’t afford a dowry to marry her. They married her to a man in his late 40 who was willing to marry her as a 2nd wife for no dowry. The parents felt relieved. Few months into the marriage her husband started to prostitute her and was very abusive if she fought back. As she struggled threw life a young man fell in love with her. She ran away with him wanting a better life.
The first few years were good, they had a baby girl. Her mother-in-law couldn’t take it any longer for the reasons, 1. Being a Muslim her son married a Hindu girl and 2. Now she has given birth to a girl. This man was influenced by his family to marry a beautiful Muslim lady. In a few months everything turned from bad to worse. She was beaten by her husband, tied up outside in the scorching sun and if she disobeyed they would starve her. She told her parents what was going on and they were of no help. One day the police found her unconscious on the street. Earlier that day she was returning from work (house-maid) with her salary and her husband was waiting to get the money, beat her for being late. Took the money and left her on the street.
A good Samaritan police told her about us and advised her to go to Life Children Home. She refused because she couldn’t leave her 1 yr old baby girl (Nazreen) behind with this family. That day when she came back home things were a bit calm. But not for long, the torture began. She planned her escape, took her baby after everyone slept, walked for more than 8 hours and finally reached us. Hoping to get a shelter for her and her baby. She says, ‘I am not welcome at my parents, they consider me a burden and will be sent back to my 1st husband. If I go back to my 2nd husband, he will for sure kill me. I am the only guardian of my child. If there is no place for me here suicide will be my only option, so we are not a burden for anyone.’ The mother and child are at our campus now. She is in a lot of guilt, feels condemned, cursed and unworthy.
We are a generation of the army of God that gets to tell her that there is no condemnation in Jesus, that she is treasured by her daddy. It will be a long road, but this is just the beginning of what God has in-stored for Shobana and Baby Nazeen. And each one of us get to be a part of it. – Judith Jacob Siddharth
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