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Getting Religion on Women's Rights
FAITH IN ACTION
By Katherine Marshall
Women lead church attendance in many if not most societies. They affirm strongly in polls that faith is deeply important to them. Women faith leaders are more visible and vocal. Calls for social justice resonate. And yet there's a shroud of discomfort around issues of women's rights when religion comes into the picture.
So what's the problem? As we celebrate International Women's Day (March 8), let's consider why more religious voices aren't speaking up for women's rights around the world? There are some obvious obstacles -- reproductive health rights and abortion rights among them. Beyond those issues are uneasy questions about what changing gender roles are doing to families and how that relates to traditional faith images of what society is about.
We're all for families, of course, but I notice that when issues of women's rights are raised in many discussions, faith leaders often shift the focus to family. That's where the subtle barriers come in: should women really work outside the home? What about the traditional authority of the father and husband?
Many religious leaders do indeed see the transformation of relations between boys and girls, men and women, as a fundamental issue of justice. Archbishop Desmond Tutu, for example, is today leading as an advocate of equality. Still, many advocates of women's rights simply do not see faith leaders as their natural allies.
But there are plenty of reasons why faith institutions and leaders should get behind the cause. In meetings about international development issues, women's rights are there at the top of the agenda. There's a powerful case that nothing yields higher economic returns than investments in women. Educated women raise healthier, better educated children. They earn more money. They contribute more to society.
And the list of barriers to women's equal rights is long. African women who celebrated Women's Day this year, for example, are pressing for girls to go to school and stay there, to end or restrict polygamy, to stop child marriage and female genital cutting, combat gender violence, and get women represented in legislatures.
Last April, the Washington National Cathedral organized a large celebration of women, faith, and development. They formed three distinct groups: women's organizations, development advocates, and faith leaders. They processed into the Cathedral as groups. During the ceremonies the banners for the three groups were interwoven by dancers.
A year later, the groups have not truly come together. It's high time they did.
Katherine Marshall is a senior fellow at Georgetown's Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs, a Visiting Professor, and a senior advisor for the World Bank.
By Katherine Marshall |
March 10, 2009; 12:07 PM ET
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Posted by: Maryann261 | March 16, 2009 1:21 AM
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Nothing would inflame the Umma more than the idea of a Playboy issue titled the women of Islam and they will not give their women the opportunity to make the poor choice to appear in it.
Posted by: edbyronadams | March 15, 2009 10:11 AM
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Simple - because most religions have a vested interest in denying women the same rights as men. Women are seen as "lesser" beings, even in Buddhism and Hinduism, which have Goddesses and female Bodhisattvas (sp?) Mainstream religion, for the most part, relies on women to do the grunt work, but won't let us be equal to the men when it comes to ministering. Most groups still view God as strictly a male, therefore God's representatives have to be male. For all of the Catholic adoration of Mary, she's still secondary to God and Jesus.
Is it any wonder that Goddess religions are growing, and Jewish and Christian denominations with female leaders are becoming more common? We're tired of mopping the floors, and we're taking charge!
Posted by: Athena4 | March 14, 2009 6:27 PM
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Athena4,
You made some very astute points.
I am not religious. I have often wondered why women don't leave their churches and start new ones that are not dominated by men. They might have to start small, but what difference would it make? If religious women did start their own churches, the mainstream churches would feel the loss. I have read that women support their local churches much more than men. If they left, their churches would find out just how valuable women are. The mainstream religions take it for granted that women will continue to support them, and as long as they do, nothing much will change.