The Faith Effect: A Facilitator Manual to Train Muslim Faith Leaders

This manual has been created to guide trainers in equipping religious leaders to address the harmful traditional practices (HTPs) of Female Genital Cutting (FGC) and Early Marriage (EM) with their congregants. As such, the manual has been tailored to meet the unique and appropriate needs of Ethiopian Muslim religious leaders. (A second guide, identical in content but theologically adjusted, has been created for Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo religious leaders.) These sessions have been carefully designed to guide religious leaders through sensitive material and discussions, so that they can effectively support their congregants in healthy decision-making regarding FGC and EM.

The sessions of this Facilitator Training Manual focus on achieving the following goals among participating faith leaders by the end of the trainings:
• Faith leaders will have a substantial understanding of the social/cultural, policy, health and theological underpinnings of EM and FGC.
• Faith leaders will adopt the necessary knowledge to improve the health of women by spreading awareness of the dangerous effects of EM and FGC.
• Empowered faith leaders and their congregations will be equipped to start dialogues and activities that result in a stronger network of Ethiopians who care for the health of their young girls and women.

This Facilitator Training Manual is specifically designed to educate faith leaders and mobilize them to be advocates for girls/women by addressing the negative effects of early marriage and female genital cutting with their congregation and community. There is also a version of this manual for Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (EOTC) Faith Leaders.

Source: Center for Interfaith Action (CIFA)

Date of Publication: December 22, 2019