Tears of Gold: Aisha from Nigeria shares her story

You may remember Aisha, one of the women who painted her self-portrait as part of a trauma-healing programme run by Open Doors partners. Please note: this story includes mention of sexual assault.

Aisha's portrait features in the updated Tears of Gold resource

“On that fateful night, I was asleep in my room with my husband. My children were in the other room. Then we heard a woman in our compound crying.”

Aisha’s village was attacked by Fulani militants. They burst into the house and found a Bible in the room, so assumed her husband was a pastor and they took him away. Aisha was badly beaten and raped by two of the men.

Thankfully, some hours later her husband returned. “As I told him everything I began to cry bitterly. But then he told me I should wipe my tears, that he would stand by me and never leave me.” His response is unusual in a culture where women are sometimes shamed and ostracised by society because they have been abused.

Aisha attends trauma care, thanks to you

Thanks to your prayers and support, Aisha attended a trauma counselling programme run by Open Doors partners in Nigeria.

“If I hadn’t attended the programme, I don’t know what my life would have been,” she says. “I would still have been in pain, with nobody around me to strengthen me. But now I have received this trauma healing I am so happy. I am overwhelmed with the love and compassion shown to us.”

“In the course of the workshop I saw how God thinks about me; how He looks at me,” Aisha continues. “God has promised that one day He will wipe away all our tears. All the pain and the worries we have faced.

“If it were possible, I would want all women who have gone through this trauma to attend.”

Order Tears of Gold and help persecuted women to see change

Aisha is featured in Open Doors’ updated Tears of Gold resource, which is designed to help you pray for women who are persecuted for both their gender and their faith. Each pack has a set of self-portraits painted by courageous women from Nigeria, including Aisha, who share their stories of persecution and healing.