What is the role of women in religion? This challenging question formed the theme of the Halton Hills Interfaith Community's second ever gathering for World Religion Day on the weekend.
Women of many diverse faith backgrounds took to the stage at the John Elliott Theatre on Sunday (Jan. 19) to highlight their gender’s role within their respective religions. One of the most notable speakers was Anne Pearson, former Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson’s granddaughter.
She is a Baha’i and she spoke about her faith on stage alongside Hindu, Sikh, Muslim, Christian, Buddhist and Indigenous speakers.
In quoting Abdu'l-Bahá (the son of the religion's founder), Pearson said humanity is “a bird - one wing is female, the other male.”
“Each wing is the complement of the other, functionally equal in service and administration. Therefore, he said, if one is defective, the other will necessarily be incomplete and perfection cannot be attained.”
She gave examples of well-known Baha’i women who are often pointed to as models to follow, like Fatimah Baraghani, also known as Tahirih, a poet and theologian who fought for women’s rights in her native Iran, where the Baha’i originated.
Others included Western women like journalist Martha Root, an American who travelled the world spreading the word of Baháʼu'lláh, the religion’s founder. She met many heads of state and other leaders and is credited with converting Queen Marie of Romania.
Dale Cimolai, an Indigenous kwe (woman in Anishnaabemowen), opened the evening by diving deep into the connection of all people, but especially women, to water. This is perhaps not surprising as Cimolai is a water walker along with a team that performs days-long ceremonies honouring water.
“Water is the lifeblood of Mother Earth,” Cimolai emphasized. “Do you start to see the connections that we have? We are part of this earth and she is part of us in every cell.”
For this reason, she implored all who attended to take care of the one woman who is common to everyone, Mother Earth.
“This Earth was created for us as a gift and I ask you to treat her as a gift. We’re not here as a dominating population of people.”
Khaula Mangla, a Muslim representing the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at, opened her presentation by addressing head and body coverings in Islam. A hijab-wearing adherent herself, she told the audience that she believes women in the faith are “one of the most misunderstood members of the community.”
“When you pass by a [Muslim] woman in society, what's the first thing that comes to your mind? Is it that she must be oppressed [because] she's covered from head to toe? Or that she doesn't have agency in her life? Maybe she lacks confidence or a purpose,” Mangla said, adding that those are “misconceptions.”
While reasons for donning coverings may differ from woman to woman, Mangla told the audience to think of them as a form of protection.
“Think of something that you want to protect, and how you might wrap it up and actually cover it from the elements,” she said in providing an analogy. “It’s very liberating.”
Hinduism honours many female figures, both divine and mortal. The youngest speaker, high schooler Akshi Bhambani, took on the task of speaking on behalf of Hindu women.
Among the many female roles she spoke about, offering insights into spiritual practices and cultural dynamics, upholding values, nurturing families and contributing to society are some of them.
It often falls on women to guide religious rites and celebrations. They also instill values like ahimsa, or non-violence and satya, or truth.
“In contemporary Hindu communities, women continue to shape spiritual and cultural life. Women are increasingly taking leadership roles, including as priests and spiritual teachers,” Bhambani said, her parents in the crowd.
Nanki Kaur, also a youth, stood for Sikh women. For her, the founder of the religion, Guru Nanak, featured heavily in her talk. But one person she kept coming back to was Bebe Nanaki, the founder’s elder sister and first convert to the religion.
She emphasized that Sikh women are equal before their creator.
“The gist of this is that from women, a woman is born. Without women, there would be no one at all. So it's not just about the importance of women in relation to male or masculine roles. It's about their importance just as their own entity and being,” Kaur said.
Mai Ogushi and Stephanie MacAlpine stood for Buddhist women at the event. Ogushi, who serves as the National Young Women's Leader of Sokka Gakai International, taught the audience about the Lotus Sutra.
“So this Sutra or teaching was revolutionary for its time because it declared that everyone, regardless of gender, age, or social status, has the potential to attain enlightenment,” Ogushi said.
MacAlpine put a finer point on the universality of Buddhist teaching for both genders, quoting Nichiren himself – the spiritual founder of the Sokka Gakai movement. She conveyed his words, “One is the mother of all; a very profound statement reminding us that this nature exists in all of us regardless of gender.”
Rounding out Christian voices was Reverend Cheryl Barker of St. George's Anglican Church. She reminded everyone of the one figure who united all of the different sects and subsects of the faith, Christ himself. But then she also wanted her listeners to know that “Jesus revolutionized and elevated the status of women.”
“Now whenever and wherever Christianity spreads, then so does the value, respect and dignity of women along with it,” Barker said. Women were permitted to become preachers in the Anglican Church in 1976.
“I dare anyone to go to any church in any of our communities and not see women who are serving and helping to grow God's message,” Barker said.
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