Women’s Faith Forum gathers in Parliament. Image credit: @W_faith_forum

Recently, ISKCON devotees participated in the UK Women’s Faith Forum’s inaugural event, “Keeping Hatred Off Our Streets.” The February 28th gathering in Parliament included women from across five major faith groups who are working collectively to ensure that the experiences, skills, and dedication of women in faith communities are focused on today’s key issues.

“Representing Islam, Sikhism, Hinduism, Christianity, and Judaism, the Women’s Faith Forum is motivated by the essence of our faith traditions,” said Nimai Dasi, a WFF member, “We are inspired and driven by the opportunity to come together to share and learn not only from our diversity but also to build on our connections and similarities as women.” 

Another WFF member, Braja Vadhu Dasi (Bijal Majithia) is a leader focused on creating Inclusive and Diverse workplace cultures. She is the Head of Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion at the CIPD (the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development). She was joined by Nimai Dasi (Nima Suchak), a regular contributor to BBC Radio 2 Pause for Thought and BBC Radio Hindu Reflections. She works actively on interfaith dialogue and is a founding member of Leicester Stories of Hope, a Hindu-Muslim dialogue group that creates space to better understand faith traditions. 

Braja Vadhu Dasi and Nimai Dasi at the Women’s Faith Forum.

In response to the alarming rise of Islamophobia and antisemitism in the UK, the event’s speakers shared experiences, possible solutions, and practical ways women of faith can help heal divisions and work together to combat hate. The event was hosted by the MP for Battersea, Marsha de Cordova, and one of the main speakers was Yvette Cooper, who serves as Shadow Home Secretary. Cooper called for cooperation across party lines while also emphasizing the role of government in building community and challenging hate crime. She, like many others, believed the recent decision by the government to withdraw funding for the Inter Faith Network was a misstep when building relationships across faith communities was more important than ever. (embed: https://www.interfaith.org.uk/news/news-release-inter-faith-network-for-the-uk-board-announces-closure-of-charity-due-to-withdrawal-of-government-funding)

The Women’s Faith Forum recognizes that harm or violence against faith communities tends to affect women disproportionately, so it is working to enable the voices of women throughout the UK—their hopes, fears, beliefs, and ambitions—to shape positive societal change. Cooper confirmed this assessment by saying, “Whether abuse or threats, very often they are targeted at women. For us to come together to talk about this, felt immensely important.”

Another key change the forum is working to achieve is the equal representation of women when faith communities are consulted formally or informally on vital issues. The event included prominent women from religious, cultural, and political organisations from around the country, including Bhaktivedanta Manor’s Temple President Visakha Dasi and Madhavi Gopi Dasi from the Manor’s Communications team. For more information on the WFF interfaith initiative, you can follow them on the X (formerly Twitter) platform.