Mission and Revolution in Central Asia - Svenska Missionskyrkan

thirty-five wives. 83 Mrs. Lattimore mentions another man who had had sixty wives “and who
was still full of life”. 84
Not surprisingly divorces were quite common. But there were exceptions. One day, a
married couple came to the Mission hospital in Jarkend. They were seeking help for the
husband’s cataract and his wife accompanied him as a good companion and assisted him.
They had been married for thirty years. 85
New marriages and subsequent divorces were however so common that the Mullahs issued
a divorce license at the same time as they confirmed the marriage. 86 The marriages succeeded
each other: there were men who had been married up to 300 times. 87 The husband could cast
off a wife without stating a reason for it. And there were husbands who went on the
pilgrimage to Mecca and who never returned. Hilda Nordqvist gives an example of a husband
and family father who went to Mecca. Before his departure he sold everything in his home
that was valuable. He needed this money for the journey. 88 His wife and children were left
without support, and the husband never returned.
A woman’s value rose and fell according to her fertility. 89 For the rest, she was supposed
to be the obedient servant of her husband. Mannerheim confirms this, “A woman’s role is a
completely subordinate one. Her field of activity is entirely confined to the home”. 90 There
she might however exercise certain power, provided she was the first wife. 91
In the harems of the wealthy, with several wives at the same time, disagreement and
jealousy flourished. The wives could resort to witchcraft in order - as they believed - to hurt
their rivals. They went to the bazaars where they bought poison in order to murder one
another. It even happened that women came to the mission hospitals to buy “the destructive
medicine.” 92
The unmarried women’s role was, if possible, an even harder one. They could be seen
standing by the Saints Shrines, loudly beseeching Allah for a husband and children. 93 If there
was no way out, these Muslim women even married infidels, be they Russians, Jews,
Armenians, Hindus or Chinese. 94 The missionaries understood the plight of woman. It was
understandable if she did everything in order to get married and thereby saved her soul for
eternal bliss. Raquette went as far as hesitating at condemning polygamy considering the
background it had in Eastern Turkestan. 95
The Mission ran into difficulties on account of the way women were regarded in the
country. Several of the women missionaries were not married and people could not see them
as better than prostitutes available to men who wanted their services. 96
A consequence of the promiscuity was the considerable spreading of venereal diseases. 97
Many children were born with such a heritage. Once the Mission health care had been
83 Palmaer, 1942, p. 82.
84 Lattimore, 1927, p. 224.
85 Palmaer, 1942, p. 158.
86 Sykes, 1920, p. 65.
87 Lundahl, 1917, p. 306.
88 Barnavännen, 1914, p. 42.
89 Palmaer, 1942, p. 80 f.
90 Mannerheim, 1940, p. 51.
91 Jarring, 1975, p. 47.
92 Högberg, 1925, p. 24.
93 Macartney, 1931, p. 131.
94 Lundahl, 1917, p. 222.
95 Raquette, 1925, p. 165 f.
96 Högberg-Ahlbert, 1925, p. 223. Inspection minutes, 1913.
97 Macartney, 1931, p. 125.
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