Metro/January 2005
Women of faith unite for peace

Marissa Charles meets two women of different beliefs who share a hope for better understanding

Take two women. On the surface, they are very similar. Both are intelligent and articulate, and married to successful men with important contacts in the worlds of business and politics: both are mothers of two grown children. But there is one major difference: Pinky Lilani, founder and chairman of the Asian Women of Achievement Awards, is Muslim: Lady Gilda Levy is Jewish.

Prickly cultural divide
By rights, they should be standing on opposite sides of a prickly cultural divide. Instead, they have joined forces to create the Women's Interfaith Network (WIN), an organisation that encourages women from different religious backgrounds to get to know each other better.

'It was Gilda's idea,' says Lilani. 'After 9/11, she rang me to say she was worried about the rise of anti-Semitism. [Meanwhile], I was seeing Islamaphobia.' But both agreed the terrorist attacks in America had a profound affect on British society, one that would last long after Ground Zero's rubble had been cleared.

'The atmosphere had changed,' says Levy. 'It was getting nasty and hysterical. People were cautious of each other. They were withdrawing into their own communities.'

The two women met in 1998 at a dinner party held by the then-foreign minister, Robin Cook, and his then-wife, Gaynor, and forged an immediate connection.

'Gilda seemed so down-to-earth,' says Lilani. 'We talked about our communities. I was on the Council of the Aga Khan and invited her to visit our Islamic centre; she invited me to see what charity Jewish Care does. It was inspiring to see how the Jewish community organises itself.'

A friendship was formed and they saw an opportunity to show other women of different faiths that they, too, had more in common than they thought. In one respect, they were moving against a wider tide. 'People who had been involved in Jewish-Muslim activities quietly finished and it was difficult to resurrect it,' says Levy. But their connection ­ and recognition of the need for such an organisation ­ strengthened their resolve.

'Pinky and I are involved in a world where we mix with different people,' says Levy. 'But, in many cases, that doesn't happen. A lot of Jewish people have never actually sat doen and had a real conversation with a Muslim.'

Get them talking
Levy's husband, Lord Michael Levy, is the Government's special Middle East envoy but the women didn't want a male-dominated, senior-level organisation. Their idea was to get ordinary women talking. Not about key issues such as war, politics and terrorism but the things they have in common ­ children and family.

'Women are more practical than men,' Levy says. 'They have a more realistic view. Through them, we can get to the children and families. We want them to be comfortable with each other and their traditions.'

Since its launch in September 2003, WIN has aimed to do just that. The first event, at the Royal College of Physicians, featured Cherie Blair as keynote speaker. But other than two annual high-profile events, Levy and Lilani keep activities small and local.

the Hannukah party Levy threw last year for primary school children at her synagogue is a key example. Using arts, crafts and games, an Orthodox Jewish man taught his young audience about the meaning of this tradition.

Afterwards, one of the parents, a tough-looking man with tattoos and a shaven head, approached Levy. 'If I'd seen him in the street, I'd have crossed the road,' she smiles. 'But he said, "My kid had such a great time." That's the type of person I want WIN to get to.' By working with women ­ and eventually their husbands ­ WIN hopes to change society, one family at a time.