The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW69), meeting now at the United Nations in New York, marks the thirtieth anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women that adopted the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (1995). The event brings people and ideas together, and, despite deep unease at developments that cast doubt and aspersion on inclusion and equality, there’s a positive vibe and energy as people from around the world gather to affirm their commitment to women’s empowerment. On Thursday, March 20, a webinar organized by Religions for Peace will focus on women’s leadership in multireligious settings. Honoring women working for peace through an award program, the event highlights the often unsung, largely invisible work and impact of many women whose inspiration and platforms are religious.
A cliched phrase reminds women that, while, “we’ve come a long way, baby,” there’s still far to go. In a world where conflicts seem to multiply and painful consequences defy easy solutions, there’s solid evidence that women’s engagement in peace processes enhances their impact. Yet data (the Women in Peace Processes Monitor for example), show how sparse women’s recognized presence still is: women made up only 9.6% of negotiators, 13.7% of mediators and 26.6% of signatories to peace and ceasefire agreements (the proportion of women signatories drops to 1.5% if Colombia’s agreements are excluded). Within the select community of recognized women peacemakers, those with religious or multireligious ties are barely visible.
Recognizing Women's Leadership in Multireligious Settings
To this end, Religions for Peace, which has a long history of focusing on women’s positive roles in many matters, launched a special set of awards in 2024, and the March 20 event will highlight five remarkable women honored last year, as the next phase of awards is launched. Religions for Peace is well-positioned with its worldwide networks and leadership roles. The small grant it received from the Gates Foundation can lay the ground for similar, more ambitious efforts in the future.
The rationale for the awards, as set out by Religions for Peace, is that women of faith, in particular, “are at the forefront of social transformation, leading multi-religious efforts that promote shared human flourishing.” Valuing, supporting, and making visible their leadership helps to ensure that, as UN members have promised: “no one will be left behind.” Religions for Peace will officially launch the second call for nominations for the Women of Excellence in Multi-Religious Action Award, inviting individuals and organizations within the Religions for Peace movement to identify and nominate “outstanding women of faith who have made vital contributions… at the grassroots level. The effort reaffirms the importance of multi-religious collaboration in advancing gender equality and the SDGs and it represents a global call to action to recognize, uplift, and invest in women of faith as agents of social transformation.” The awards honor women of faith who have demonstrated exceptional leadership.
In 2024, the Women of Excellence in Multi-Religious Action Award honored five women of faith whose work has had a profound impact at the national and global levels (two of the five received certificates rather than a formal award). They have demonstrated exceptional leadership, resilience, and dedication in their respective fields, advancing gender equality and driving social change through multi-religious collaboration and action. Their experiences serve as a powerful testament to the significance of this initiative and underscore the need for continued support and recognition of women’s contributions in laying the foundations for shared human flourishing.
Insights from the 2024 Honorees
I spoke to each of the five 2024 honorees, probing their reactions to the honor, but still more how they saw the challenges for women and the impact that recognition and respect for their work might have. The five are much respected colleagues, and in addition to short conversations this week, longer interviews with three are available on the Georgetown University Berkley Center website (I have linked them below).
Dr. Kezevino (Vinu) Aram, often honored as a physician and public health leader, serves as Religions for Peace co-moderator and executive committee member, and is a global multifaith leader. She is also the president of Shanti Ashram, which takes its inspiration from Mahatma Gandhi. She exemplifies the strong link that women like her are able to make between faith, values, communities, and on the ground impact. Her leadership trajectory resonates with people in the twenty-first century as it has palpable impact.
Aram highlighted her path from a youth leader in India to her present position, as she returned repeatedly to the importance for the award program of supporting and inspiring young women. She spoke of how each year the celebration of International Women’s Day brings home forcibly (as the COVID-19 emergency also did) women’s vital, daily work on the front lines. Women’s understandings of peace draw on this front line community work. Honoring women makes their work more visible, showing how important it is. There can never be enough awards to recognize these realities, she argues. And carefully crafted awards can recognize the many different ways in which women contribute to the urgent task of building peaceful societies, societies where just peace is far more than metrics, but carries with it acknowledgment of what Vinu calls “belongingness” and giving real priority to vital, if often ignored, matters like illness, child poverty, and violence. We need to be like older sisters, helping to find and inspire women leaders.
Dr. Nayla Tabbara, a respected scholar and leader, living in Lebanon, is the co-founder and president of Adyan Foundation, and previously managed its academic branches in the Institute of Citizenship and Diversity Management and the cross-cultural studies department. She is also a university professor in the Islamic studies.
Dr. Tabbara sees an award like the one she received last year as especially important within religious circles. Religious leaders see the recognition and it draws their attention. She sees interreligious work as having particular importance for women. It opens new ways of seeing and approaching women’s roles. Highlighting women’s leadership even required a new word in Arabic, since existing language for a religious leader involves only men, a new expression was needed. And interreligious work, with women invited abroad, open minds, for example, as women were recognized internationally as theologians. The political and ethical ramifications are important. In short, the awards can make a real difference in shifting mindsets and gaining recognition for vital work.
Sister Agatha Chikelue, from Nigeria, is the executive director of Cardinal Onaiyekan Foundation for Peace (COFP), co-chair of the Nigerian and African Women of Faith Networks, and chair of the Religions for Peace International Women’s Coordinating Committee. The award last year caught her by surprise. She saw it not as an achievement, but more as a confirmation of the power of collective action in advancing peace, diversity, and gender equity. It showed that people are beginning to understand how important interfaith harmony, cooperation, and gender inclusivity are in everything we are trying to do. The real recognition is for inclusive peace. And here, the roles of women are vital, whether they are perceived as faith leaders or not. It is work at the grassroots that will lead to a more inclusive world. Her work on building bridges and opening minds to the roles of faith and of women amplifies the voice. The award to her and the Opus Prize that went to Sister Ngozi Uti give positive attention and recognition of the steady, persistent, ongoing work that women do and the breadth of their understanding of peace.
But the basic message that Sister Agatha takes is that she must keep working and work harder. Ever since she began to reason as an adult, that is what she has understood. Hard and sustained work is what matters. And that includes, in Nigeria, more focus on interreligious work and on supporting young people as leaders. We need to challenge ourselves to be a good mentor and a good example, thus strengthening networks of peace. Awards can inspire and make more visible the important work that women do. But they also show how much remains to do, and thus the importance of building our capacities and those of others. Sometimes, because of limited capacities, women may have seats at the table but may not know how to be effective in that role. We have to get ourselves prepared to play the larger toles we are seeking, in order to understand how to navigate and address the cultural as well as political aspects of patriarchy.
Two other women were honored with certificates. Melody Amal Khalil Kabalan from Argentina spoke passionately about the work she has done for interfaith understanding since she was a 14-year-old at secondary school. What inspired and still inspires her is a strong curiosity, that led her, as a Muslim girl, to seek to understand other cultures, and especially Judaism. How religious beliefs and traditions affected women’s roles in many cultures was and is important. She was inspired especially by reading about Moroccan women like Fatima Mernissi and highlighted a deep appreciation for women’s equality. She sees great importance in appreciating cultural roots that affect ways in which people see both Islam and women’s roles. Activities over the years have shown the lasting benefits of coming together, getting to know one another. Coffee and talk can make a real difference!
Melody honors Afeefa, the name of her Lebanese grandmother (born in Argentina), as an exemplar of women in Islam. As a child she heard stories of the men in their community—but never the women, who also immigrated, and also worked hard and showed leadership. Even their names were forgotten. And she came to recoil at the tacit assumption in neighborhoods and schools that Muslims and Jews were born knowing they had to hate others. Her active interfaith work is dedicated to creating spaces for women in Jewish and Muslim communities, not to debate, but to hear and exchange, to understand different versions of the inherited narratives. Women working together can bring lasting peace.
Laura Vargas, a former nun who is a leader in Peru both for the bishops’ conference and for the Interfaith Rainforest Initiative, was also honored with a certificate. Ever-outspoken and with telling comments, Laura observed that it is good and important to honor women, but that recognition needs to go beyond pieces of paper. What’s most needed is to support women and, in recognizing their leadership, to be specific about what it involves and what they have achieved. She has served since 2012 as the executive secretary of the Interreligious Council of Peru. In appreciating what she has done, it’s important to focus on the substance of the achievements. An award can help make people more aware both of progress and the qualities that make it possible.
Laura’s experience in leadership has been positive, because she has had a lot of support from different religious communities. As an example, she pointed to a long and successful effort to secure recognition from the Ministry of Justice, now reflected in a video program that highlights the work of the Interreligious Council. She is hopeful that it will lead to further recognition, for example of the Interfaith Rainforest Initiative that she is deeply involved in. The video program was the result of years of work: a short but effective video. And now the door is open. Women can be very active and many people are not aware of what they do. Societies are still rather male-dominated. Women working in interreligious spaces can help open space and eyes, gaining respect for the role that faith plays. For her, she sees her work inspired by God and the love of God. This must be authentic, of course.
An important message from Laura (echoed by all the honorees) is that you can never give up. Women are indeed very active and do vital work. But many are barely aware of what women can do. Churches need to recognize women themselves, as well as the broader communities working for peace. But what’s most important is that the recognition be grounded in appreciation and respect. And that recognition must be grounded in an appreciation for rights: recognition is not a concession but an appreciation of human right and women’s essential equality.
