Action Issues

Women and Girls' Empowerment

“As people of faith, love and compassion are required of us. We can all draw on blessed memories or simply look into the eyes of our mothers, our sisters, and our daughters to know that supporting women benefits families, communities, and all of humanity.”

  Right Rev. Desmond Tutu, Archbishop Emeritus of Capetown

wfda

Women Faith and Development Alliance (WFDA)

The Women, Faith and Development Alliance (WFDA) is an alliance that joins women and men in international faith, development and women’s organizations to mobilize around the bold moral imperative of ending global poverty and empowering women and girls. Read more

About Women and Gender Justice

woman-girls

Women are:

  • 70 percent of the one billion people living on less than a dollar a day;
  • Two-thirds of the world's illiterate people;
  • More than 60 percent of chronically hungry people in the world;
  • More than 80 percent of the world's estimated 40 million refugees;
  • Owners of one percent of the world's farmland, but produce half the world's food;
  • Dying at a rate of 500,000 each year from preventable complications of pregnancy.

With these sobering numbers in mind, CIFA also sees the critical role of the faith community in partnering with development and women’s organizations to empower women and girls in the struggle for gender equity and economic empowerment.

Faith leaders and communities have the power to influence the dignity and opportunities of women and girls, based on religious and moral teachings. This status makes them especially well-positioned to advocate for an end to gender-based violence and the empowerment of women and girls in their communities. 

The Faith Sector and Women and Gender Justice Resources