INTRODUCTION

• Explain that the aim of this exercise is to enable faith actors to become on-the-ground defenders of women and girls by sharing faith-based quotes that to promote gender equality.
• Facilitator may share a faith or belief quote pertinent to Commitment V. See the Faith Quotes tab for examples.

ACTIVITY

Option 1:

• Participants find religious or belief quotes that relate to the aims of Commitment V. 
• Each participant shares their quote. Participants may chose to learn the quote well enough to recite from memory.
• As a group, participants may discuss the significance of their quotes in promoting gender equality. The questions under the Discussion Questions tab may be used to guide discussion. 

Option 2: 

• Participants reflect on the backgrounds of religious texts that do not put men and women on an equal footing.
• Participants discuss these religious texts in light of Commitment V. 

CONCLUSION

• Participants commit to share their quotes or their new insights with family or friends, within their faith communities, or on social media, where appropriate.

• How does your faith or belief quote relate to Commitment V?
• How is your quote traditionally interpreted in your faith or belief community?
• How does your quote influence how you perceive Commitment V?

There are specific resources for this activity.

Facilitator may contact participants in advance about bringing a faith quote related to Commitment V that has particular meaning for them. 

Additional Tips for All Peer-to-Peer Activities 

• The #Faith4Rights modules are flexible and require adaptation by the facilitators before their use. Case studies related to peer-to-peer exercises in the 18 modules need to be selected by the facilitators from within the environment where the learning takes place. The #Faith4Rights toolkit is a prototype methodology that requires contextualization, based on the text of the 18 commitments, context, and additional supporting documents.
• Not all issues raised need to be resolved. This would be an impossible and even a counterproductive target. The aim is rather to enhance critical thinking and communication skills, admitting that some questions could receive many answers, depending on numerous factors.
• Tensions may occur during discussions related to “faith” and “rights.” Most of these tensions are due to human interpretations. Learning sessions are spaces for constructive dialogue in a dynamic process where tensions can be reduced with the help of clear methodologies, including pre-emptive situation analysis and evidence of positive results in areas of intersectionality between faith and rights.
• When preparing the sessions, facilitators need to factor in the profile, age, and backgrounds of participants. Focused attention on the learning objectives can transform tensions into constructive exploration of new ideas.
• Meaningful engagement requires democratically pre-established rules. Facilitators should dedicate time with participants to elaborate these rules together at the outset and act all along the training as their custodians.
• The time frames suggested in this #Faith4Rights toolkit are merely indicative. Facilitators may adapt them freely to suit the needs of their group of participants. The key balance is between respecting the overall time frame while not cutting short a positive exchange momentum.
• To ensure optimal and sustainable benefit, facilitators may create a “training notebook” for participants during their peer-to-peer learning sessions. It would contain a compilation of templates to help participants keep track of what they have learned throughout the program and eventually use this notebook as their personalized follow-up tool.
• When technically feasible, facilitators are also advised to project the module under discussion on screen in order to alternate between discussions thereon and showing the audio-visual materials listed in each module or any other items selected by the facilitator.

• “A man should respect his wife more than he respects himself and love her as much as he loves himself.” (Talmud, Yebamot, 62,b)
• “Never will I allow to be lost the work of any one among you, whether male or female; for you are of one another.” (Qu’ran 3, 195)
• “O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another.” (Qu’ran 49:13)
• “In the image of God He created him male and female. He created them.” (Genesis 1:27)
• “The best among you is he who is best to his wife.” (Hadith)
• “It is a woman who is a friend and partner for life. It is woman who keeps the race going. How may we think low of her of whom are born the greatest. From a woman a woman is born: none may exist without a woman.” (Guru Granth Sahib, p. 473)
• “The world of humanity is possessed of two wings – the male and the female. So long as these two wings are not equivalent in strength the bird will not fly. Until womankind reaches the same degree as man, until she enjoys the same arena of activity, extraordinary attainment for humanity will not be realized.” (‘Abdu’l-Baha)
• “A comprehensive, holistic and effective approach to capacity-building should aim to engage influential leaders, such as traditional and religious leaders […]” (Joint general recommendation No. 31 of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women/general comment No. 18 of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on harmful practices) ​