Bahá'í representative stresses importance of transforming attitudes

ISTANBUL, Turkey – Faith-based organizations that deal with population and development issues should move beyond merely delivering services or simple messages and seek instead to transform those attitudes and behaviors that cause discrimination against women.

That was among the points made by a representative of the Bahá'í International Community at an interfaith conference sponsored by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) here on 20-21 October 2008.

Fulya Vekiloglu, a BIC representative to the U.N., was among more than 140 leaders from religious and non-governmental organizations attending the Global Forum of Faith-based Organizations, which discussed population and development issues related to HIV-AIDS, reproductive health, gender equality, and violence against women.

Ms. Vekiloglu, who works on gender equality issues, discussed the need for the transformation of attitudes that lead to discrimination against women during the question and answer session after a panel discussion on “Violence against Women and Women’s Empowerment.”

“Governments take primarily a reactive approach to issues surrounding violence against women,” said Ms. Vekiloglu, suggesting instead that governments should collaborate more with faith-based organizations and move towards a preventative approach.

Faith-based organizations should “move beyond the service delivery orientation” or simply conveying messages [about violence or population issues] towards processes that promote the “transformation of attitudes and behaviors which are destructive and discriminatory towards women and girls in society,” said Ms. Vekiloglu.

She added that faith-based organizations should not necessarily replicate what other, secular non-governmental organizations are doing, but rather that they should rely on their unique capacity to promote the development of moral and ethical capabilities at the level of the individual, the family and society.

Ms. Vekiloglu read a short Bahá'í prayer at the closing ceremony of the Global Forum.