Title: ‘Women’s Voices: Identity and experience as women of faith’
Date: Hull Guildhall (HU1 2AA)
Time: Tuesday, 19th March 2024. Refreshments from 17.00, meeting proper starts at 17.30 and ends at 19.00
Everyone is welcome to join us at this meeting when our focus will be on the lived experience of women from varying faith backgrounds, and how, for individual women, their identity as women has influenced their faith, and, in turn, how their faith has influenced their identity.
We have invited a panel of women to speak for around 10 –15 minutes each after which questions from the floor will answered by the panel as a whole (rather than by individual speakers as we wish to focus on wider issues which are relevant to many faiths rather focus on any matters which are specific to any one faith). We expect to hear about such matters as:
– The extent to which our speakers have found it possible to follow their faith within the confines of the roles and opportunities available to them within their cultural and faith background;
– How they have been able to adapt to any limitations imposed upon them by the roles and opportunities available to them as women;
– The extent to which, if any, they have experienced the distinctive roles and opportunities available to them as women, as helpful (or even liberating) in their religious practices and life more generally;
– The extent to which they have experienced both positive support and negative reactions from other members of their community (both male and female) because of the opportunities which during their lifetime have been opened up to them (for example the comparatively recent ordination of women within the church of England);
– How they have coped with any negative attitudes;
– Any insights as to how women’s voices and experiences can be more heard and understood within cultural and faith communities.
Our panel consists of the Reverend Elaine Bielby (a recently retired Anglican priest), Sister Patricia Harriss,( a member of a Catholic apostolic religious congregation of women, Sona Sharma (a member of the local Hindu community). We will also have available to us a video diary prepared for this forum by Julie Siddiqi, who is a Muslim and social entrepreneur, gender equality campaigner and community organizer with a particular interest in working with women in faith communities. She also received an MBE in 2020 for Services to Promoting Interfaith Understanding. who . As such we will be hearing from women with wide ranging experiences across a number of faiths.Remote access will be possible – contact mapliener@pliener.karoo.co.uk for link
Hull and East Riding Interfaith 