WOMEN: A FORCE FOR PEACE Nurturing Harmony and Hope

discussion on relevant literature. It was a privilege for Shabina Ali to facilitate this first session and share reflections from the Quran. The class will be held fortnightly. In the coming sessions, along with the Quran learning class, selected chapters from Tarbiyat-e-Aulad (Upbringing of Children) will also be taken up. May God make these gatherings a means of deeper understanding, reflection and practical application of the Quran in our lives. Another class for women is also being conducted in Kolkata under the arrangement of Brother Mohammad Abdullah, chapter head of PSF Kolkata, with Shabina Ali serving as the coordinator. Similar initiatives are also being undertaken by women’s teams in Bengaluru and the USA. Beyond these organised teams, several women in different states, cities and districts have taken up this responsibility individually. They may currently be working alone, but they are the beginnings of what can become a much larger force. Among them are Sufia Akhtar from Bihar; Yasmeen Shaikh from Mumbai; Sajida Perveen and Ayesha Yusra from Visakhapatnam; Sameena Usman and Ghufrana Ansari from Malegaon; Husna Abrar and Qudsiya Jamal from Vaniyambadi; Rubina Arshi from Raichur; Shamshad Begum from Vijayapura; Sadiya from Ambur; Saliha from Mysuru; Maria Hasan from Madhubani, Bihar; Dr Safeena Tabassum from Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh; and Ayesha Ummehany from Kurnool. I am sure there are many more whose names I do not know. May God increase their number and bless their efforts. We all know the saying: “A house is called a home only when a woman is in it.” The Quran gives women an important role in making their homes centres of learning and wisdom. God says: And remember what is recited in your houses of the revelations of God and wisdom. Indeed, God is Most Subtle, All-Aware. (33: 34) This verse points to the home as a place where the Quran and wisdom are remembered and discussed. A woman who brings