Pray for women and girls facing gender inequality

International Women’s Day is a time to celebrate the inherent worth and value of women. When women and girls realise their God-given potential, they help create thriving communities.

But we also have to recognise and address the biases and barriers they face that prevent this from happening. This prayer guide will help you lift up women and girls around the world who are being denied their voices and rights.

You can pray about:

• Gender equality and women's rights
• Sexual and gender-based violence
• Female genital mutilation or cutting
• Child marriage
• Church as a champion for equality

Gender equality and women’s rights

As Christians, we recognise that we are all created in God’s image. We all have equal value. We were all born to thrive. Yet, gender equality, a fundamental human right, remains a distant goal despite some progress.

Despite advancements in the last decade, deep-rooted inequalities remain. This threatens the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development gender equality goal. Women worldwide still earn less than men for comparable work and are under-represented in leadership positions.

Please pray:

• For a swift and decisive shift towards true gender equality. May the untapped potential of women and girls be unleashed, bringing balance and progress to God’s world.
• For wisdom and courage for leaders worldwide. May they enact policies and invest in programs that dismantle the systemic barriers holding women back.
• For a change in hearts and minds. May we all recognise the inherent worth and dignity of every woman and girl. May God help us challenge our own biases and work together to create a world where gender equality is not just a goal, but a lived reality.

Sexual and gender-based violence

Sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) is a serious human rights violation and a life-threatening danger, especially for those who have been forced to flee their homes. While anyone can be a victim, women and girls are disproportionately at risk. An estimated one in three women experience sexual or physical violence in their lifetime.

By standing alongside survivors of SGBV, Tearfund supports women like Rhoda from Nigeria to overcome trauma, heal and gain renewed hope for the future. ‘My husband used to beat me even when I greeted him or welcomed him. That’s how bad it was,’ says Rhoda.

She contemplated suicide. ‘I felt worthless and didn’t know when this would come to an end,’ says Rhoda. ‘At one point, I wanted to put an end to my life.’ Even after her husband died, Rhoda lived with the physical and psychological damage that the violence had left. She says she wouldn’t wish what she went through on anyone.

After being trained in Tearfund’s Transforming Masculinities approach through our local partner in her community, Rhoda was enrolled to become a gender champion. She also received training through our Journey to Healing programme, which uses a peer-to-peer support group model to create a supportive environment for healing. Now, she is using her experiences to make a difference in the lives of other people – particularly those going through intimate partner violence and other forms of gender injustice.

‘These training sessions transformed my life and also offered me the opportunity to reach out to others through the community dialogue sessions,’ says Rhoda.

Please pray:

• That God will help survivors to find safe spaces in their communities, especially their churches – spaces where violence is not accepted so that they can experience life to the full.
• That God will help survivors to heal, and that he will bind up their wounds.
• For women and girls to access opportunities and have the freedom, in every context, to thrive and to fulfil their God-given potential.
• For God to raise up men who will champion women. Pray that they will speak out against gender injustice and will help to open doors that have previously been unfairly shut based on gender.

Female genital mutilation or cutting

Female genital mutilation or cutting (FGM/C) refers to the total or partial removal of the external female genitalia, or to any other modification or mutilation of the female genitalia that is performed for non-medical reasons. It happens in many parts of the world and it’s estimated that more than 230 million girls and women worldwide have undergone this abusive practice.

For many years, Madina, who lives in Chad, was the one who carried out FGM/C in her community. In Chad, around 34 per cent of women aged between 15 and 49 have undergone some form of FGM/C. In some countries, as many as 98 per cent of women and girls are affected.

‘Cutting was considered a social act, a rite of passage, a change of state from adolescence to adulthood, and a means of controlling female sexuality, ensuring virginity at marriage and fidelity thereafter,’ says Madina.

Two years later, Madina met Tearfund’s local partner. They offered for her and the other woman responsible for FGM/C in the community to attend training to become community champions instead.

‘Thank God, I've given up this harmful practice that harms women's health,’ she says. ‘I feel relieved of a heavy burden and I'm very happy because the training and awareness-raising I've received have enabled me to look away from this practice.

‘Today, I raise people's awareness of the harmful effects of the practice whenever I get the chance. I try to give good advice to men and women on the consequences of female genital mutilation or cutting.’

Please pray:

• Thank God for women like Madina who have become champions for change in their communities.
• Lift up women and girls in communities where FGM/C is still a common practice. Ask God to protect them, to heal where damage has been caused, and to bring about change so that no more girls and women will suffer because of the practice.
• FGM/C is intrinsically connected to gender inequality. Pray for an end to all forms of sexual and gender-based violence and cultural norms and practices that are harmful and oppressive to women and girls.

Child marriage

For millions of girls and women around the world, child marriage, whether forced or arranged, is a situation that robs them of opportunities and education. It often leaves them vulnerable to violence and abuse. The UN reports that up to 10 million girls are at risk of child marriage every year.

At age 14, as is often tradition within the community in Mali where Mounina is from, Mounina’s father was preparing to give her away in marriage. This would have been the end of her education, but Mounina’s mother saw things differently. She disagreed with the idea of giving up her young daughter and cutting her schooling short.

Mounina’s mother attended some training set up by Tearfund’s local partner, Association Protestante de la Santé au Mali/Protestant Health Association in Mali. The sessions from the Journey to Healing programme took an honest look at the consequences for women of early and forced marriages. After considering all of the information, Mounina changed her mind and decided that she wanted to continue her schooling.

Mounina says she is thankful to God and to her parents, particularly to her mother for setting the example by standing her ground in the face of multiple pressures. She says, ‘at the beginning I did not understand, but she [Mounina's mother] persevered despite the criticism, the scorn, the sleepless nights.’

Mounina’s mother says, ‘I am a happy and honoured mother… My heartfelt appeal to parents is to ask them to let their girls study and not to give them away early in marriage, but rather to encourage them to work well at school.’

Please pray:

• Thank God for every girl child around the world. Pray that each one will know God’s love deeply and will have the opportunity to thrive and live out the potential placed within her.
• Lift up all those who speak out for the rights of women and girls. Ask God to give them platforms in all areas of life and to open doors in all arenas, so that their message will be heard.
• For the protection of girls who are suffering the effects of gender inequality. Pray that the root causes of harmful practices like child marriage will be addressed through education and honest dialogue.

Church as a champion for equality

When churches and communities work together to stand up and speak out against the injustices of gender inequality, lives are changed. The church has a crucial role to play in speaking out against gender inequality and the harmful ways that it reveals itself.

Please pray:

• Thank God for the work already being done to raise up men and women in churches and communities who are challenging harmful stereotypes, practices and social norms.
• For leaders who can promote gender equality and lead by example in their own lives.
• That churches will be a place of refuge and healing for survivors.
• That more churches will raise awareness and encourage community dialogue.

A prayer for women and girls

Lord God,

We lift up the women and girls around the world who are struggling under the weight of oppression. You hear their voices and you see their innate value because you made them in your image. You created men and women equally to live in peace and be unified in our worship of you.

We are sorry for the ways in which this unity has been fractured and the resulting suffering for women and girls. Please help men and women come together and restore broken relationships so that families and communities can flourish.

Please bless Tearfund’s work so that more communities can be reached and more lives impacted.

Please remove the barriers that stand in the way of women and girls achieving their God-given potential. May your church be a voice for equality, standing with women and girls in solidarity. We pray that your church would challenge injustice where women and girls are denied the potential you have blessed them with.

Amen