05/09/2026
đź’™ An evening that reminded us just how powerful women, community and kindness can be.
Tonight, three of us from Leamington SNT had the privilege of joining the Ahmadiyya Muslim Women’s Auxiliary, Leamington Spa for their women’s dinner and outreach evening, and we came away having learnt so much.
What made the evening particularly special was that absolutely nothing was off the table.
We talked openly and honestly about women’s roles within religion, female role models and leadership, the hijab, as well as difficult subjects including forced marriages in every culture. There were questions, experiences, misconceptions were discussed and challenged, and nobody was afraid of having the difficult conversations.
We talked about the hierarchies, traditions and expectations that can affect women across different religions, cultures, communities and organisations — policing included. While the experiences may be different, one message came through incredibly strongly: these are not conversations for one community alone.
As women, we need to keep talking to one another. We need to ask questions, listen, educate and sometimes be brave enough to challenge what has simply “always been done”. Things are changing for the better in society but progress only continues when women have a voice and feel able to use it. 💙
We also heard about here in Leamington, the sisters supporting the local community through their community food bank, having prepared hot meals for those using the local night shelter, supported Myton Hospice, taken gifts to children in hospital and volunteered their time to help keep our town clean.
And their compassion reaches far beyond Leamington. We heard about the women’s fundraising towards a maternity hospital in Sierra Leone — helping mothers and babies in a country where the need for safe maternity and newborn care is immense. Lajna Ima’illah UK has undertaken a project to build a maternity hospital in Sierra Leone to provide vital healthcare for women giving birth. The need for maternity and newborn care there remains immense; UNICEF has described Sierra Leone as facing some of the world’s most serious challenges around newborn survival.
To hear about women in our own community helping to change the lives of women and babies thousands of miles away was both inspiring and incredibly humbling. I had no idea just how devastating the maternal and newborn mortality rates in Sierra Leone remain, and hearing the reality behind those statistics was genuinely shocking. Knowing the difference this hospital could make — giving mothers safer births and babies a better chance at life — is incredibly powerful. 💙
We were welcomed through the doors this evening with warmth, fed the most beautiful meal, encouraged to ask absolutely ANYTHING and treated like friends.
We arrived knowing a little.
We left understanding a lot more.
Thank you for your hospitality, your honesty and everything you do for others.
The words displayed behind us throughout the evening couldn’t have been more fitting:
“Love for all, hatred for none.” 💙
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