The Revd Domnic Misolo from the Anglican Church of Kenya (ACK) is set to join the Gender Working Group of the Multi-Faith Advisory Council (MFAC). The informal and voluntary body brings together religious leaders and heads of faith-based organisations. MFAC provides strategic advice and support to the United Nations Inter-Agency Task Force on Religion and Sustainable Development (IATF).

A gender equality advocate, the Revd Domnic is the founding director of the Institute for Faith and Gender Empowerment (IFAGE), a Kenyan non-profit organisation that promotes biblical equality and positive masculinity by engaging men and faith actors to prevent domestic abuse and gender-based violence. He also advocates for equal access to education for women and girls.

Announcing his invitation on social media on 29 July, the Revd Domnic shared that he is ‘so inspired by this invitation’, and that his hope is to ‘build a united future where every voice is heard, every faith is respected and every person is valued.’

MFAC was formed in 2018 to provide strategic advice to IATF. It also aims to improve religious literacy among secular UN staff and strengthen partnerships between the United Nations and faith-based groups.

The Gender Working Group was subsequently formed to support the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which includes an emphasis on gender justice and women’s human rights.

The Gender Working Group is a collaborative body of faith voices focusing on the empowerment of women and girls and gender justice. It seeks to broaden engagement with faith movements, organisations and initiatives that are challenging patriarchal norms and advancing narratives of gender equality rooted in faith and human rights.

Within the Gender Working Group, the Revd Domnic will join a Technical Reference Group of religious scholars supporting the validation of sacred texts included in the UN ‘Side by Side Compendium’. The compendium offers strategies for faith-based responses that advance gender equality and human rights.

The work is expected to begin as early as September, once responses have been received from the remaining faith leaders invited to participate. The Revd Domnic said his role will involve identifying and endorsing biblical texts and passages that promote human dignity, inclusion and human rights.

The Revd Domnic’s social media post stated: ‘Religious texts are sometimes invoked in public and online discourse to legitimise restrictive views about women’s roles and authority. By framing social hierarchies as divinely or traditionally mandated, these interpretations influence norms around leadership, family roles and participation in public life, demonstrating how religious narratives can shape broader social and political attitudes in international and digital spaces.’

The Revd Domnic believes that just as Christians have historically been complicit in the problem of gender inequality, they can also contribute to the journey towards equality and dignity for all.

He stated: ‘Amid ongoing debates and organised opposition, faith communities engaging with questions of gender and equality have meaningful opportunities to affirm that dignity and equity are deeply rooted in spiritual values.’

He added: ‘By fostering dialogue and mutual respect, faith actors can help uplift gender equality as a shared moral responsibility.’

In the belief that faith should ‘inspire gender justice’, he concluded the social media post by saying: ‘Let's walk in the footsteps of sages, prophets and faithful ancestors who stood for action and transformation’.

More information

See the social media post on Facebook from Domnic Misolo.

Find out more about the Multi-Faith Advisory Council to the UN.

See the Side by Side Compendium: Connecting Sacred Dialogue and Responses in Promoting Gender Equality and Human Rights.