NEW DELHI: Several hundred women leaders from around the globe will gather in western India to launch a movement to stem violent religious conflict in the world, organisers said on Wednesday.
Around 450 women — many of them religious figures in their countries — will hold a five-day summit beginning Thursday in the fort city of Jaipur in western Rajasthan state.
“There is a lot of religious conflict in the world, but very few women are involved in building religious harmony,” said Dena Merriam of the New York-based Global Peace Initiative of Women, which has organised the event.
The gathering will discuss ways to resolve conflict and problems by emphasising “feminine qualities” of compassion and community building, the non-profit organisation said.
Many women who will be present at the summit come from conflict zones.
“I have seen nothing but conflict in my life,” said Teny Pirri-Simonian, a church leader, whose parents fled to Lebanon during the 1915-17 massacre of Armenians under the Ottoman Empire.
Many others from Afghanistan, Iraq, Israel and Pakistan said they hope to share their experiences and promote inter-faith harmony.
“As a Palestinian woman, I can bring a healing touch to others as well,” said Laila Atshal, a psychologist from the West Bank city of Ramallah.
The summit will coincide with the annual International Women’s Day on Saturday.
Participants said they will launch the first World Council of Women Spiritual Leaders at the end of the summit.—AFP
