INTEGRATING SOCIETY BY FAITH AND SOCIAL COHESION: ROLE OF WOMEN

This paper examines the role of women, their faith and value system in building cohesive communities and examines their initiatives for developing and evaluating social cohesion activities. The term „community cohesion‟ is increasingly used to denote local action and meaningful relationships between people from different backgrounds. This research sought to explore how meaningful interaction between individuals and groups is affected by differing access to resources, capacity and power between and within groups. The role of women in this regard becomes important as they are the ones who takes the maximum responsibility of upbringing of the child during the child`s formative years of life. These early years of child`s life are crucial for the mental development (including attitudes and prejudices) of the child. Therefore it‟s the women, who could develop sound mental health among children who would become the future citizens. The secular values (like tolerance, respect of others etc) inculcated in these formative years among children prove to be a deciding factor in the child`s development in later years. It also depends upon the continuous learning which the mother provides to the children throughout its initial learning stage as well as moral and emotional support from mother which makes the child feel secure, thereby reducing the tendencies of developing aggression towards other people, in the future. The present study explores how faith and religious beliefs can influence cohesion of the society and the development of shared values. The study also suggests that a climate of trust is needed for interaction that leads to shared values and the resolution of real issues. It identifies key issues for the inclusion of women within communities and in leadership positions for National Integration and Harmony. Failure to focus specifically on involving women in formal structures could marginalise and silence their voices. Existing structures may need to be reviewed with input from women as a more effective way of creating sustainable harmony and integration.