ENI – Rev. Ina Ngefar-Bara Pa of the Timor Evangelical Christian Church says she had to grapple with a "macho" society and a conservative congregation when she wanted to establish a program to support women's rights in her congregation in Indonesia's West Timor province.
"Reaching out to the men in our own congregation about gender and women's rights was a tough challenge as they accused me of wrecking homes," she said. "And it was difficult pioneering this program perceived by many of my congregation as pornographic," she says, referring to the reaction to her sex education component for young people.
Still, she persevered, and gradually convinced doubters about the urgency of her program that now runs a shelter for abused women, pregnant teenagers, and people living HIV/AIDS.
