The Euro-Arab Foundation in Granada held, on March 17, the participatory roundtable “Faith and Feminism: Interreligious Dialogues among Women.” The event, organized by the Euro-Arab’s Chair of Gender Studies under the SHIELDed project, brought together nine experts and leading figures from various spiritual traditions to discuss identity, power, and women’s resistance within spaces of faith.
Introduced by Euro-Arab researcher Rascha Albaba Acosta and moderated by the institution’s project coordinator, José Luis Salido, the event was structured around three cross-cutting themes: intergenerational dialogue, feminist reinterpretations of religion, and the building of alliances in the public sphere.
The right to spirituality and autonomy
During the session, the speakers agreed that faith and feminism are not only compatible, but that their union is a tool for empowerment. Shankari Shaktini, a lecturer in Vedic philosophy, was unequivocal: “Spirituality is mine; if I want to belong to another religion, it is my freedom as an individual,” also denouncing how institutionalized dogma has historically stigmatized the feminine.
For her part, young Christian activist Valentina Pérez Cerezo (Mag+s and Women’s Revolt in the Church) highlighted the internal diversity of Catholicism and the struggle to overcome the “secondary role” to which women are relegated: “We are still Christian and feminist.”
Re-reading texts to reclaim dignity
One of the central points of the debate was the distinction between the original spiritual message and later patriarchal interpretations. Zoraida Alí Morell, a graduate in Philosophy, recalled that “the first believers were women” and that sacred texts, in their essence, dignify the female figure. In this vein, Paloma Medina and Rowan Aly emphasized that the problem lies not in the texts themselves, but in biased readings that reinforce male power structures.
From the perspective of Islam in Europe, lawyer Omayma Boughlala offered a critical reflection on the paternalism of certain sectors of Western feminism: “There are feminists who do not include me because they think I have no voice. How can I participate if it is assumed that I need to be ‘liberated’?”—thus asserting the autonomy of Muslim women to decide on their own symbols and practices.
Education against extremism
The event concluded with a call for religious literacy as an antidote to hatred and exclusion. Susana Lorente, from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, stated that “knowledge is freedom” and proposed integrating religious diversity into educational curricula. Lola Parras Chica (Tibetan Buddhism) and Medha Tyagi (Vedic tradition) stressed the need to unlearn patriarchal models and restore women’s central role in the transmission of values.
The meeting closed with a shared commitment: the need for women not only to practice their faith, but to become its interpreters and creators of inclusive spaces, transforming religion into a tool for social justice. Read the full post on our blog dedicated to this event.
