Cultural Corner: Indian Woman's Portrait - Rebecca Jaichandran

She is a leader in her own right, a woman with a myriad giftings - preacher, teacher, writer. A devoted wife and mother, she is an inspiration to her family, the community and the church, a catalyst for change. She is Rebecca Jaichandran, Dean of Distance Learning at Southern Asia Bible College (SABC), Bangalore. Talking to her is an experience. She is effusive, empathetic, positive. (Ask her what her husband’s name is. She’ll smile and write it down for you. Out of deep respect for her culture and her husband, she has never, till date, said his name).

There is much to learn from this graceful, gracious woman. In this excerpt from an interview with her, she shares her hope, her perspectives, her vision and her story.

Rebecca "Becky" Jaichandran

1. Over the years, there are laws that the Indian government has passed to ensure that every Indian child receives at least basic education. But we've seen these laws crumble in the face of issues that the girl child faces. What are the factors that render the laws ineffective and hinder the education of the girl child?

Many of the laws passed by the Indian government tend to end up ineffective for several reasons:

Ignorance: Most of these laws are on paper and people discuss them only at higher levels and among affluent classes. However, most of the people in India live in villages and so at the grassroots, people are not even aware that such laws exist and that the government gives out several benefits to the girl child.

Poverty: Although the government provides free education with free books and lunch as incentives, many people in villages do not send their girl child to school because that would rob them of an extra hand at work in their homes, and in some homes rob them of an extra income. The girl child is sent to work in the fields, in factories and even as housemaids and the money they bring in is so helpful to the running of the family that many families hesitate to send their girl child to school.

Marriage: To many parents in villages, it is the boy child who will work and take care of them in their old age because they cannot depend on their girl child. Therefore, they see the girl child as a burden that they have to spend on and take care of only to get her married, after which she begins to take care of her husband’s family. Although it sounds selfish, many families do not educate their girl child because later only her husband and his family will benefit from her education.

2. How far do you think issues like child labor and the mindset of the Indian society affect the prospect of education for the girl child?

Child labor is so rampant in India. This social evil is found not only in rural villages but also in urban areas. Due to extreme poverty, little children are forced into the streets to work and support their families. In many homes, the little children work all day and bring back home their daily wage only to be beaten up by their drunken fathers who take the money away. As long as families push their children out to work and as long as people employ them selfishly and exploit them - children are paid less then men and women who do the same work - there will be hardly any prospect of the girl child getting education.

Bearing in mind that nearly 80% of India's population live in rural areas surrounded by poverty and superstitions, their mindset will definitely affect the prospect of education for the girl child. The mindset in many in rural areas in so anti-girl child that if they get to know that the foetus they are carrying in their womb is a girl they will go through any means to get the child aborted. In other cases, after carrying a child to full term, if the new born is discovered to be a girl, they will go to any extremes to dispose of her. Even urbanized and educated people harbor such sentiments. Although sex determination is prohibited by the law of the land, there are many scanning centres that do not follow the law, leading to abortion of the female foetus, rampant female infanticide and so on. As long as these strong anti-girl child attitudes persist in the minds of Indian people, the girl child has little guarantee of life itself leave alone education!

3. With regard to education, what do you think will transform the destiny of the Indian girl child?

The only thing that can transform the destiny of the Indian girl child is the transforming power of the Gospel. It is only when people respond to the gospel message and walk in communion with God that their lives and their mindset will be transformed. God is not a respecter of persons. In Him, men and women find equality and therefore, only He can transform the mindset of people. With transformed minds people will learn to love, care and respect the girl child.

Besides this, another thing that can improve the situation is literacy. People need to be educated about the worth of the girl child. Such education will soon dispel ignorance, superstitions and selfishness that rob the girl child of living life to the fullest.

The church, the people of God, should be the role model to help the girl child find and fulfil her true destiny in life. It should begin with us. We need to show the world the true worth of the girl child by educating families within the church, and by giving opportunities for the girl child to develop her talents and abilities. At SABC, this academic year the faculty comprising of about 14 men and one woman went ahead to unanimously elect a lady student as the Student Body president for the very first time in our history. In doing so, our hope and prayer is that others will see the true worth and abilities of the girl child and will soon follow our example.

4. Please share with us your story - the experiences that have shaped your life, and how your family has been instrumental in seeing you rise as a powerful minister of the gospel?

Serving the Lord from 1984 has indeed been so very exciting. As I look back these 22 years I really have no regrets at all. There is no greater joy and contentment than in knowing that you are in the purposes of God! There are so many experiences I could talk about but here are a few:

Brought up in an orthodox Christian home, I grew up attending Sunday School and family prayers at home. As I grew up, however, I slowly began to push God out of my life. I told him, "God you don't interfere in my business and I will not interfere in yours." God had his own reply to that and how I thank him for it! Betrayed by my closest friend and having attempted suicide several times, I fell into severe depression and lost faith in the people around me. In 1983, God encountered me at a care-cell meeting I had reluctantly accompanied by parents to, where the preacher, Rev. Paul Thangaiah, who is now my spiritual father and pastor, spoke about Peter's confession at Caesarea Philippi. While preaching, he directly looked at me and asked, "Who is Christ to you? You may be brought up in a Christian home but who is He to you? Do you know about him or do you know him?" I went back home that night, knelt by my bedside, opened the Bible and began to cry. God came down in a special way washed my sins and saved me that night.

After I was water baptized and had received Spirit baptism, I still enjoyed listening to ‘Beatles'. One day I sat back to enjoy one of several of the Beatles tapes I had borrowed from my cousin, when all of a sudden a loud, strong voice said, "Today I want to talk to you about God's call on you life!" I jumped up and checked the cassette cover and found it had the picture of the Beatles on it. I dropped it down and listened to a good an hour and a half message on the call of God. I sensed God’s call on my life and after praying about it for several days I shared this nudging of God with my parents and to my utter amazement I heard my father say, "If that is what God wants what can I say!" I am so grateful to God for loving and humble parents who buried their desire for me to see God's desire fulfilled. Till today, none of us know how the cassette switch happened. Hallelujah!

I joined Southern Asia Bible College in 1984. Working towards my Certificate in Theology and then my Bachelor of Divinity (equivalent to Master of Divinity) the next five years, God let me go through situations that made me often ask the question, "What am I doing here? Am I in the right place?” During those times of great confusion it was the call of God on my life and the love and concern of the faculty that kept me going.

After my graduation in 1990, God orchestrated every detail of my life so well. I prayed real hard that God would bring the right partner into my life, someone who would stand by me, support me and encourage me. God's choice did not disappoint. In 1991, I met my Prince Charming (Mr. Albert Jaichandran) and we were married the following year. Being from the mainline church, it was not until later that God met my husband at a crossroad of his life and today he is walking with the Lord, baptised and seeking to serve him in every possible way. Today, he serves as the Accounts Manager and Cafeteria Manager at SABC. God has blessed us with two charming daughters, Fedora (13) and Praise (8). My husband and my children have been a great support to me, without which I know I will not be able to do all that I am doing. I know the Lord has taken into account the many sacrifices they have made.

In 1992 the same year that I got married I was also invited to join the faculty at SABC. After much prayer and encouragement from my husband, I accepted the invitation. Fourteen years in the ministry of SABC has also formed and shaped my life. As the only lady faculty for all these years I must honestly confess that I have been so well accepted by all my male colleagues and at no time do I ever feel marginalized just because I am a woman. During 1998 – 2000, I worked on my Master of Theology in Church History. Those were years when God sharpened my academic skills and taught me time management and the importance of discipline. For my thesis I worked on the topic, The History of Christian Work among the Devadasis (Temple Prostitutes) in South India with special reference to Bellary in Karnataka. The study involved a lot of field work that opened my eyes to the pain and struggles that these poor women go through.

God also drew me closer to him during two specific occasions. The first was in August 2002 when I was taken to the hospital with bi-lateral pneumonia. Both my lungs had collapsed and the doctors gave up hope. Three days in the ICU and not responding to medical treatment, I saw what the prayers of God's people could do. The doctor had told my husband, "if you believe in God, pray" and my husband took it seriously and called everybody up from the hospital and soon I had a whole lot of people - many whom I do not personally know - pray for me. God did a miracle and breathed into me the breath of life again. Today for every breath I take I thank God! The second occasion was in October 2005 when I developed severe pain in my left knee and thought it was osteoarthritis only to be told by the doctor after an MRI that three discs had slipped or bulged in my spine, causing extensive damage and paralyzing the nerves to my legs and my bladder. He was amazed that I had walked into the hospital and called me a "walking miracle". I was advised to undergo surgery immediately or risk never being able to walk again and living on a catheter all my life. God took me to the doctor at the right time and the surgery took place on 15th October 2005. A year later now I cannot express how grateful I am to God for every step I take. My little sister so upset about all the physical pain I have had to experience in the past few years, cried to God and asked him WHY?? God spoke to her through a vision that He was preparing me to minister to the many people who go through pain and affliction, to teach them that with God they can smile through the storm. I feel so excited about all that God is doing in and through my life. And my prayer will continue to be

"Just a closer walk with thee, Grant it Jesus is my plea ..."