Nushreen Jamal Ahmad, Sadr Lajna Imaillah Mauritius
On 8 March 2023, Lajna Imaillah Mauritius held an inter-religious conference at the hall of the municipality of Quatre-Bornes. Its theme was “Women as Nation Builders”. Present at this conference were the Honourable Tania Diolle, Member of Parliament and PPS; the Honourable Ariane Navarre-Marie, Member of Parliament and Opposition MP; Madam Nalini Vythilingum, the representative of the Tamil Chambers Women’s Empowerment Network and Miss Alia Lallmohamed from the Council of Religions.
In my welcome speech, I had the privilege of giving an overview of the history of Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya and stressed that the mission of the Community was to unite humanity under one banner and revive the true teachings of Islam. Despite the persecution suffered by its members in several countries of the world, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, under the guidance of Khilafat, remains committed to the promotion of universal peace, love, and tolerance. I also dwelled on the main objectives of Lajna Imaillah, which are to promote the spiritual and moral development of the members. I explained that this inter-religious sharing was intended to build bridges in order to consolidate unity in Mauritius.
Different speakers had the opportunity to speak for a sharing of opinions on the role of women as nation builders. In her address, Mrs Nalini Vythilingum, from the Tamil Chambers Women’s Empowerment Network, presented the initiatives set up by her association to promote entrepreneurship among women who have business ideas and thus help them make their businesses more profitable. Miss Alia Lallmohamed, put forward a presentation where it was a question of the development of women, in particular the personal journey that leads to it. According to her, women’s empowerment must take place at all levels – spiritual, social, economic and educational.
Firdosh Kaudeer Sahiba, a member of Lajna Imaillah Mauritius, presented Islamic teachings pertaining to women. The beauty of Islam resides in the fact that it has granted equal rights to all, based on logic and wisdom while taking into account the natural differences between men and women. She also underlined the essential role played by mothers, from an Islamic point of view.
Those present at the conference also had the opportunity to view a video presenting the message of peace delivered by Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa on various occasions. In addition, a guided tour of an exhibition centred on Hazrat Maryam was also offered.
The conference ended with the distribution of the magazines The Message, published by Jamaat Mauritius, and Najm us Saqib, published by Lajna Imaillah Mauritius, focusing on the theme “Women in Islam”.