The inherent conflict of being a woman of faith is to reclaim our divinity within a tradition that rightfully belongs to us.
The question put to us is how have we negotiated a comfortable place for ourselves in our traditions. I can’t really answer that, because I’m not comfortable.
For women who don’t want to be involved with what the church tells them, the leadership doesn’t seem to mind that they’re not there. The attitude seems to be, if you don’t like it, don’t come. But I was struck by a letter from a young woman saying that leaving the church is a luxury for those in the West. You have a choice. In other countries you don’t have a choice whether to be Catholic or Muslim or secular. So we need to stay and make change within the church.
I think that women of deep faith have the power—we may be the last bastions—to bring change, to create the kind of world we want our children to thrive in. We need to make that road by walking it. And we need to find a deep-rooted spirituality, because the forces you face in the world are overwhelming. You can be crippled forever overnight… We need all the strength we can garner from each other. Women need a net of solidarity. Women in the west- women with all resources at our fingertips- we can do a lot more. Women in other parts of the world do so much with no resources other than their will and their sisterhood.
How do we find people where they are? Sometimes lowering your voice and smiling can open a door that would otherwise be closed to you. How do you craft your message such that men are not terrified of us taking over the world?
I refuse to give up the mosque—it is a right. How dare you put me in the basement and tell me I can’t come, or the days on which I can come? Our young people and men have to be a part of this awareness and a part of this struggle. Women should not need to feel like they are superwomen to feel welcome and at home within their houses of worship.
We need to emphasize more the spiritual line of development, not just the psychological and intellectual lines of development. That gets so much attention and acclaim, but spiritual development is what gives true strength and depth.
The model of leadership, of teaching and learning for men and women is completely different, and we’re only just figuring that out. I was teaching a section of the Torah, and a man in the workshop said that I facilitated too much and didn’t lecture enough. He didn’t ask the students – he just told me his opinion based on what he would do. The style for men and women is probably very different.
Women need to have access to the text. In Islam, that means Arabic. We rely on translations, which are tempered by culture. We don’t really have access to the authentic text. So how do we build in a mechanism for women? How do we build in a mechanism to give women the freedom to soar?
We can use the internet and new technology to connect, yes, but bad people are on there too. It is getting more and more rare to sit across from each other and have a conversation of any length. We need to sit together and talk about this. It is important to do this.
