Keeping Faith: A How To Guide

How can we respond to suffering without being overwhelmed by it? Can kindness be a catalyst for change? And how do we keep faith in kindness in today’s world, which all too often feels far from kind? In this episode, we hear from Suryagupta Dharmacharini – chair of the London Buddhist Centre – who shares her journey to Buddhism and to leadership, and how she has kept faith in herself and her commu...

Content Warning – This episode includes personal stories of miscarriage, birth trauma and health inequalities. Please listen with care and access support if you need it via the links below.  What does it look like to keep faith in healthcare while still challenging systemic inequalities? Can we channel our anger into our activism without letting it consume us? And how are women building their own...

Can harnessing our creativity become its own act of resistance? What does it mean to keep faith in justice in unjust times? And can one person really make a meaningful difference? This week, WIN is launching our new book of women’s writing, ‘Keeping Faith: 20 Years of Women's Interfaith Network’, a collection of essays reflecting on how we keep faith in what matters to us in a world where fai...

Content Warning – This episode references Gender-Based Violence, including sexual abuse, as well as mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, and disordered eating. Please listen with care. How has the war in Ukraine created a ‘gender crisis’ for Ukranian communities, both at home and those displaced around the world? What does it mean to keep faith in humanitarianism when a new political...

How can art help us tell important stories that all too often go unheard? What would it look like to truly value and prioritise creativity in our communities? And how do we keep faith in welcome for migrants and refugees, against the backdrop of hostile and divisive rhetoric? In this episode, we spoke to multi-disciplinary artist Ada Jusic, the illustrator behind the graphic novel The Power of Wel...

How do we bridge the gap between the world as it is and the world as we believe it should be? Can the arts help communities move through trauma to work for social change? And after a year of asking women from across communities what keeping faith means to them, how are we keeping faith ourselves in 2025? In the last episode of this series of Keeping Faith: A How To Guide, we spoke to Community Org...

Content Warning: This episode contains discussions of gender-based violence, including femicide. Please listen with care.   How did the pandemic shine new light on the role of faith and interfaith groups in the voluntary sector? What does it mean to have ‘intersectional’ conversations about women’s safety? Can looking back at periods of tension and division from our past give us hope to challenge...

In our bonus episodes, we speak to women from our Women's Interfaith Network (WIN) community to share their stories and give their own unique perspectives on keeping faith.  In our sixth bonus episode, Foujan Jenner, from WIN’s Barnet group shares her journey into interfaith work, the difference between tolerating and celebrating our differences, and what ‘keeping faith’ means to her.  Learn...

What do young activists want us to know about the issues that matter to them? What impact is systemic inequality having on their lives and communities? How do we all keep faith in the future, while also creating spaces to voice our fears and uncertainty? In this episode, we speak to Dianne Danquah – a Young Equality Campaigner with The Equality Trust and one of the voices behind their Reconstructi...

In our bonus episodes, we speak to women from our Women's Interfaith Network (WIN) community to share their stories and give their own unique perspectives on keeping faith.  In our fifth bonus episode, Santosh Behl from our Gants Hill WIN group shares the enduring impact of the Summer 2024 riots on her community as well as reflecting on her journey with interfaith work. Find out more about WI...

In our bonus episodes, we speak to women from our Women's Interfaith Network (WIN) community to share their stories and give their own unique perspectives on keeping faith.  In our fourth bonus episode, Averil Pooten-Watan from WIN’s Waltham Forest Group shares the personal story that inspires her work on Waltham Forest’s Borough of Sanctuary framework, how local communities mobilised in resp...

Content Warning – This episode contains descriptions of Gender-Based Violence, including Harassment, Femicide and Domestic, Sexual, Spiritual and Financial Abuse. Please listen with care. What does it look like to shine a light on violence against women and girls (VAWG) when others are trying to sweep it under the rug? Why do harmful narratives stay so entrenched across communities and traditions...

In our bonus episodes, we speak to women from our Women's Interfaith Network (WIN) community to share their stories and give their own unique perspectives on keeping faith.  In our third bonus episode, Lucy Calcott from WIN’s East Sussex Group shares what interfaith means to her, how she keeps faith in dark times and her advice for someone thinking of getting involved with interfaith work.  ...

Why do so many women and marginalised communities feel silenced in medical settings? How do we keep faith in ourselves when we feel we aren’t being heard? Can we empower patients and providers to make sure everyone feels listened to in healthcare? In this episode we speak to NHS consultant and researcher Dr. Rageshri Dhairyawan, author of the new book 'Unheard: The Medical Practice of Silenci...

Can we keep faith in meaningful institutional change, even when we can't see the way forward? How can we shift the narrative around migration to one that centres compassion? And what does it look like to really live our values? We unpack these questions in this uplifting conversation with the Bishop of Dover, Rose Hudson-Wilkin : the first Black woman to be ordained as a Bishop in the Church...

How do you keep faith in yourself as a leader while balancing the high expectations and intense media scrutiny that come with being ‘first’? What do we mean by ‘systemic Islamophobia’ and where does it lead? Can we still find reasons to laugh, even when faced with hate and divisive rhetoric?  We spoke to Zara Mohammed - the first woman, first Scot and youngest leader to be elected Secretary Genera...

In our bonus episodes, we speak to women from our Women's Interfaith Network (WIN) community to share their stories and give their own unique perspectives on keeping faith. In our second bonus episode, WIN's CEO Marion Waruguru shares her journey with WIN since joining in 2005, the changes she’s seen in the interfaith space and her advice for aspiring leaders.  Find out more about our te...

How has magic become such a mainstream part of our spiritual landscape, from #WitchTok to astrology apps? Can these practices offer safe spaces for women and young people who feel that established faith institutions have left them behind? What does all this tell us about what ‘keeping faith’ really means in 2024? In this conversation, Dr. Linda Woodhead - F.D Maurice Professor of Moral and Social...

As crisis after crisis demands our attention, how can we hold onto our compassion and find meaningful ways to make a difference? Who do we trust when ‘fake news’ can travel the world through a tweet or WhatsApp chain? And how do we keep faith in humanitarianism, under attack from competing political agendas? In this episode, we speak to Sandrine Tiller – Strategic Adviser to Médecins Sans Frontièr...

In our bonus episodes, we speak to women from our Women's Interfaith Network (WIN) community to share their stories and give their own unique perspectives on keeping faith. In our first bonus episode, we spoke to WIN's chair and co founder Lady Gilda Levy about the last 20 years leading WIN, the importance of interfaith in 2024, and how she's keeping faith in challenging times.  Rea...

Note: The WIN community is shocked and heartbroken by the loss of our friend Hadiya Masieh on January 22nd 2026. You can find out more about her work and support her colleagues at the Groundswell Project via the links below.  What does extremism really look like in 2024, outside of the headlines and political debates? Can we empower young people to harness their passions for positive change while...

What does it mean to keep faith in peace and reconciliation after unimaginable loss? How can we sit with disagreements and different worldviews to find our common humanity? What can we do to ensure women’s voices are heard and uplifted in peace-building work?  Our conversation with Robi Damelin and Laila Alsheikh – both bereaved mothers and spokespeople for the joint Israeli-Palestinian organisati...

How do we keep faith in climate action when governments and corporations keep dragging their feet? How does a ritual described in the Torah help women navigate life’s transitions in 2024? How do we nurture open dialogue between communities with hate crime on the rise?  Our conversation with Rabbi Debbie Young-Somers, lecturer at Leo Baeck College and trustee of Faiths for the Climate , ranges from...