The 10/40 Window is a geographical region located 10 degrees to 40 degrees latitude north of the equator, spanning from the west coast of Africa to the east coast of Asia. Within this window we find the following:
- At least 56 nations. More than two-thirds of the world’s population – 4.4 billion people –live on one-third of the world’s land mass.
- 90% of the world’s least-reached peoples live here. Because of the prominence of Islam, Hinduism and Animism, and their often hostile treatment of Christians, creative access with the Gospel is necessary.
- 85% of the poorest of the poor live here – those who live on less than $1.90 per day.
- In the 10/40 Window, women and girls receive less health care, less food, and substantially less education.
- Women are often most responsive to the Gospel and first to share the Good News!
The seats of every major non-Christian religion – Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Animism, Atheism, and Sikhism – are headquartered in this part of the world. These religions have birthed prominent worldviews that are utterly repressive toward women. As a result, horrific atrocities against women and girls – ranging from female genital mutilation to dowry deaths – are all too commonplace. Women are frequently marginalized and considered less valuable than men, and thus deprived of education, professional opportunities, healthcare, proper nutrition, and basic human rights.
God has given women a unique role within His Kingdom to advance the Gospel alongside their brothers in Christ, and to reach women who are otherwise sequestered and separated from opportunities to receive the Good News. As a direct response to the appalling reality of women living and ministering in the 10/40 Window, Women in the Window International partners with like-minded ministries in this region to equip and empower indigenous women leaders through capacity-building trainings, which is our ongoing strategy. By empowering these women leaders, we hope to strengthen and encourage them so that the unreached women, and their children, will have access to the Gospel and an opportunity to reach their full God-given potential.