U.S. Applauds Role Women Play in Promoting Pakistan’s Interfaith Harmony

Islamabad, May 24, 2012

For Immediate Release                                                                        Contact: Mark Stroh, Spokesperson
0308-555-0591
67/2012                                                                                   

Dr. Marilyn Wyatt, wife of the U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan, participated in a women’s interfaith dialogue today at a local shrine.  Participants included over 40 women religious leaders from various faiths, as well as teachers, and civil society activists.  Dr. Amineh Ahmed Hoti, an anthropologist, author, and noted women’s rights activist, moderated the dialogue.
 
During the dialogue, the participants discussed the role of faith in daily life, the importance of interfaith cooperation, and the important role women play in promoting religious tolerance and interfaith harmony.  Dr. Wyatt noted that women especially understood the importance of tolerance, dialogue, and service to humanity.
 
“Here in Pakistan, where there is such a diversity of peoples and faiths, you have long experience in promoting religious tolerance and fighting those negative forces that want to judge and punish faiths that are different from their own,” Dr. Wyatt said. “It is precisely this that I hope to learn from you today: how faith in action can be a force for the good, and how we as women -- as daughters and mothers, as professionals and civil society leaders -- have a special role to play in ensuring that our communities, and our children, are dedicated to respecting each other’s faith.”