Prayer Chain for the Women of India

As i was sipping my coffee and browsing through the daily news last week, my heart almost skipped a beat at the headline of the day - Two teenage girls raped and hanged on a tree. I almost wanted to close my eyes and pretend the piercing pain that i was experiencing was not there.
Yet, another crime against innocent girls, yet another incident of torturous death. This time it was in a rural setting and the victims aged 14 and 15 were of a lower Hindu caste. The lower caste in the village do not have enough money to build private toilets so most of them defecate in the open. These two sisters also were heading out to relieve themselves when 4-5 men who were hiding in the bushes attacked them and dragged them into the forest. The girl's uncle who heard the screams of the girls ran to help but was met with an armed man from the upper landlord cast and was asked to withdraw. The Uncle and the Father ran to the police-station to get help where they were asked which caste they belonged to and then were beaten up by the upper caste policeman on duty. Inspite of the beating they persisted and begged for help, The policeman told them that the girls would be returned in 2-3 hours and that they should look for them near a tree. 2 hours later, the girls are found hanging on a tree.

The village where cousins were raped and hanged

This case has brought in lot of media publicity, a lot of politicians have come to visit the family and some men have been arrested. But now what?
I cannot stop thinking about the two girls, They must have had some dreams, dreams to educate themselves, dreams of a better life, dreams to be away from the constant fear of rape and humiliation. I wonder if they ever got to know that they were loved and how precious their lives were, I wonder if they ever got to know that the God who created the universe was their creator.

Stories of brutal rapes after rapes, gruesome murders of rape victims on a daily basis in India has become a common headline. After every incident, the media makes a big circus and then moves on to the next one. It is almost de-sensitizing. For how long will this continue, What will we do about it, Is the pain of this incident not deep enough for us to want to do something, Has our heart hardened so much that it will not hurt, Are the screams of these girls so faint that they don't deafen our ears, Is it life as usual?

No, my friends. Life will never be usual for the girls of this village or the families of these girls. Some are scarred forever, others writhing in pain over their lost children. Don't let this be life as usual....If we as women do not carry the burden of these girls, who will?

The last three years, India has seen a steep rise in severe sexual abuse crimes on women, from rural to urban India. There have been many many protests, the government has taken legal actions and even made new laws for stricter punishment for the accused. Inspite of all of this, the number of rapes and then murder are sharply increasing.

The reason i am writing is because i read about many protests in India regarding this issue i feel that we need to knock on the doors of the Almighty and start praying for the girls and women of India, We need to pray for a change to take place in the country. I would like to start a prayer chain for this cause, Would you be willing to pray each day for 10 minutes for 7 days either at 10 am or at 4 pm starting June 10th.

Please pray for the protection of girls and women in India, that God will raise government leaders to take new measures to protect them. Pls pray for a change to take place in the hearts and minds of men and that God will raise leaders in local communities who will set examples by their lives. Pls pray for God to raise women in government and authority positions where they will make an impact on the sanitation and safety of women especially in rural India. Pls pray for God to have mercy on India and pray for the chains of sexual abuse and oppression to be broken, Pls pray for God's love and hope to be restored among the poor and hopeless women. Pls pray for divine intervention and that there is healing through the love of Christ. Pls pray for favor for all the tireless NGO's which are working constantly for improving the condition of women in India. Please pray for Justice and liberty for the women of India, Pls pray for honest police and legal system, a government which will bring justice and relief to the plea of millions of women and their safety.

Pls email me if you are going to join me in praying for these 7 days.

tina.newmail@yahoo.com