Rifkatu’s story: from unimaginable suffering to inexhaustible love

Four weeks after her wedding, Rifkatu was kidnapped. She had to endure unimaginable suffering at the hands of extremists. But she has been helped to find hope and move forward.
Please note: this story contains details which some people might find distressing.

It was four weeks to the day after her wedding that Rifkatu* was kidnapped.

She had married Zamai*, a pastor in their small village in Nigeria. Threats from Islamist Fulani militants meant that they were forced to live away from home, but they had to return to work on their farm. And it was as she was returning from the farm that Rifkatu and her sister-in-law were taken.

“All of us in my village are Christians,” says Rifkatu. “We were on our way home from the farm when Fulani militants caught us.”

The two women were taken first to an abandoned house, and then to the militants’ camp in the bush. Over three days they were repeatedly sexually assaulted. To the militants, they were nothing more than objects to be used how they wished.

Throughout the terrible ordeal, Rifkatu continued to pray. “I didn’t lose hope,” she says. “In my heart, I prayed, ‘You are the God that saved Shadrach and Meshach. If you are the same God who has not changed, I know I will go home.’”

Eventually, her prayers were answered. As a consequence of the abuse, Rifkatu started to bleed. The Fulani – who mixed their version of Islam with superstitious beliefs – thought she had had a miscarriage, and saw her blood as a bad omen. So Rifkatu and her sister were freed and they managed to make their way home.

“I felt scared”

“When my wife came back, I was so happy because God heard my prayer,” says Pastor Zamai. But physical freedom is one thing; the emotional and psychological effects are harder to escape.

“I didn’t want any man to come close to me,” Rifkatu explains. “I felt scared… But Zamai never gave up.”

A year later, a baby daughter was born to the couple. It was then that the gossip started.

“I have forgiven them in my heart. And may Almighty God help them to repent.”

“They felt that my wife came back with bad spirits,” says Zamai. “People started spreading rumours that our daughter is the baby of the Fulani militants who kidnapped her. They started thinking that our baby was an evil child.”

“Nobody wanted to come close to me,” Rifkatu says. “Even my family and friends.”

Her ordeal had not ended. It seemed like it never would.

Taking our pains to the cross

It was at this point that partners from the Open Doors trauma centre became involved. Through their patient, loving care, Rifkatu was helped towards healing and hope.

“My heart was so heavy, terrified and filled with fear,” she says. “Hearing the stories of others, it helped me so much.”

One moment during the process was particularly significant. “Something I will never forget is taking our pains to the cross,” she says. “Everyone wrote their pains on a piece of paper. We sang songs and burned our pieces of paper at the cross. They told us that, as the ashes go up, our pains are going up to God.

“I used to say, ‘These Fulani militants, I will never forgive them till eternity,’” she says. “But I have forgiven them in my heart. And may Almighty God help them to repent.”

‘Pray for Christian women’

Sadly, Rifkatu’s story is far from unique. Millions of Christians face violent persecution for their faith in sub-Saharan Africa. This rising violence is being driven largely by Islamic extremists taking advantage of political instability in the region. And in this turmoil, women are particularly vulnerable.

The African church is asking you to stand with them against violent persecution. So if you havent already done so, please sign the Arise Africa petition, which calls for protection, justice and restoration for Christians like Rifkatu and Zamai, whose lives have been brutally affected by violence and conflict.

Asebe* is a trauma caregiver who worked with Rifkatu at the trauma centre. “We want the world to pray for Christian women,” she says. “We want our voices to be heard. I want this violence against Christian women in Africa to stop.”

Rebuilding their lives has not been easy. But now Rifkatu, Zamai and their little daughter, Maryam, have hope. They have discovered that it is possible to take even the most terrible pains to the cross.

In the face of unimaginable suffering, they have discovered inexhaustible love.

* Names changed for security reasons