Religions for Peace’s Interreligious Council in Mauritius Chooses Faith over Fear in COVID-19 Response

In Mauritius, religious leaders deployed innovative methods to reach their communities, using media to strengthen and unite the fabric of a post-COVID-19 society. While Mauritius has one of the world’s highest COVID-19 recovery rates of nearly 100 percent, its citizens were still faced with the challenges of misinformation, adaptation of lifestyles, and the physical and psychological burdens of isolation and an economic downturn. The onset of the public health crisis has disproportionally impacted women and girls who face increased rates of gender-based violence.

In order to prevent and respond to these challenges, Religions for Peace’s Interreligious Council in Mauritius, the Council of Religions, produced an educational booklet and video emphasizing the crucial importance of faith in overcoming the virus. The interfaith council, which compromises Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Baháʼí, and Buddhists hosted a global webinar with 75 participants to launch the resources in partnership with the only national television channel, the Mauritius Broadcasting Cooperation (MBC), ensuring broad dissemination.

At the webinar, Dr. Francis Kuria Kagema, Secretary General of the African Council of Religious Leaders – Religions for Peace (ACRL-RfP) said that they are working with 12 countries all over Africa with the Humanitarian Fund. The Covid-19 crisis created a sense of fear, stigma, and discrimination, testing everyone’s faith. Religious leaders had to be called upon for collaboration, solidarity and advocacy to help our communities and to confront the challenges threatening our common future. A training session to empower and equip women during and after the pandemic was hosted in collaboration with Cercle Dames des Mourides (CDM), a non-governmental organisation striving to promote the role of women in society. The training, with 55 participants, also reached the Women in Business Mauritius Network through the Citizen Advise Bureau. Experts presented on the topics of the socio-economic and psychological impact of the pandemic on women and how to identify and support women experiencing violence.

“Increasing the role of women in the economy is part of the solution for the critical health and economic crisis and is vital for economic resilience and growth of the country. The pandemic is deepening pre-existing inequalities, exposing vulnerabilities in social, political, and economic systems, which are in turn amplifying the impacts of the disease,” said Aleeyah Lallmahomed of the African Women of Faith Network.

“As Faith leaders, we firmly believe that devastating events impact our lives to help us to re-define our priorities and core values and to re-discover ourselves. The crisis period has been an opportunity for growth and change,” says Mr. Bashir Nuckchady, Secretary of the Council of Religions Mauritius.

As Mauritius begins to heal and recover from the health, economic, and social impact of the pandemic, the interfaith religious leaders across the country continue to urge their communities to remain steadfast in their faith and commitment to humanity.

“We believe that religion has always had an enormous potential for addressing today’s social problems. Faith leaders can influence behaviour, not only on the individual level, but also on a socio-cultural and environmental level. Religious leaders have a huge influence on their constituencies, and are well placed to help bring about a change in mindsets that can lead to visible progress in society,” emphasizes Mr. Nuckchady.