Escaping Gloriavale Lilia's Life Inside A Cult

Lilia’s out and fighting for the sisterhood.

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As she curls up on the couch in her townhouse on the outskirts of Christchurch, Lilia Tarawa looks every bit the successful businesswoman.

With her runway looks and easy laugh, the 26-year-old business mentor chats about leadership, her passion as a budding author and her drive to help other people fulfil their potential.

But take a second look and there are subtle signs of Lilia’s unorthodox childhood. Her glossy mane of hair is uncut and swings almost halfway down her back. And although she’s single, a ring sits defiantly on her wedding finger.

“After all these years, some things never change,” laughs Lilia. “As hard as I try to rebuild my life, parts of Gloriavale are ingrained in who I am.”

For the first 18 years of her life, Lilia grew up at Gloriavale, a Christian sect in the rugged Haupiri Valley on the West Coast of the South Island. There, female devotees turn their back on the outside world and dedicate their lives to God, donning a dour navy uniform, being “good”, submissive wives and having large families of up to 14 children. They leave their hair uncut and, for many, it reaches down to their calves. Girls marry as young as 16, but wedding bands carry no meaning because the union is with God.

“Who I am and what I stand for traces back to Gloriavale,” asserts Lilia. “I am passionate about empowering women because it was women that were so suppressed inside the compound.”

Lilia’s maternal grandfather, Neville Cooper, 91, who is also known as Hopeful Christian, is the founder and current leader of Gloriavale. For three generations, the deepseated evangelist beliefs of his community have run in Lilia’s blood.