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Women and Religion: News on Women, Sexism, and Feminism in Religion
It's frequently the case that religions treat women as inferior to men - women have been denied leadership roles, they are told to be submissive, and religious doctrines are used to control them both in society and the family. Here you will find recent news and information about the relationship between women and religion, the ways religion can be repressive to women, and how some women are fighting back.
Rape Prevention Saudi Arabia: Sentence Rape Victim to 90 Lashes
If you are trying to reduce rape in a community, what's the best method? Perhaps the key is to punish the rape victim as harshly as some rape perpetrators. That will surely prevent women from reporting rape very often that this, in turn, will allow you to tell the world about how little rape occurs in your community - thus demonstrating your inherent moral superiority over everyone else.
India Abolishes Right to Rape Wife
Domestic violence against women has long been a punishable crime in India, but until just recently, the concept of marital rape was never recognized. It was impossible to argue in a court of law that a husband had raped his wife because it was presumed that if two people are married, then he has the legal right to have sex with her whenever he wished - and even if she didn't so wish.
It's in the Bible: Sunday School Teacher Fired... For Being a Woman
Mary Lambert, 81, has been teaching Sunday school classes for 54 years. Now, a pastor at the First Baptist Church in Watertown, N.Y., who has been alive for fewer years than Lambert has been teaching has arranged for her dismissal. His reason is simple: the Bible prohibits women teaching and having authority over women. People are outraged, but the fact is the pastor is right.
Will Pakistan Change its Rape Laws?
In Pakistan, the burden of proof on rape victims is almost impossible to meet and if that's not bad enough, anyone who makes a rape accusation but fails to prove their case is accused of adultery - a crime. This prevents most rape victims from even considering trying to make a criminal case. Fortunately, Pakistan's government is seriously considering changes which would eliminate these problems.
Satanic Female Drivers in Afghanistan
Under the Taliban, women in Afghanistan were denied most basic civil rights and most of the social privileges accorded to men - including the ability to drive. Today, Afghan women are allowed to drive and many are trying to learn. Men, however, are not all happy about this development and condemn it as satanic.
Girls of Riyadh: Saudi Girls Gone Wild?
Saudi society is very conservative, especially where it comes to the treatment and permitted social roles of women. This is what makes a new book about women in Saudi Arabia so controversial: in includes tales of gay teens, lesbians, women drinking alcohol, and more. The book is banned in Saudi Arabia, naturally, but that's only made it more attractive to readers.
Polygamy in Turkey
In rural Turkey, especially in Kurdish areas, polygamy persists despite official bans on the practice dating back to Kemal Ataturk. People believe that they have a duty to reproduce as much as possible. Although polygamy is often seen as a symptom of patriarchy and women's second class status, there's a bit more going on here than meets the eye.
European Women Converting to Islam
Increasing numbers of European women are converting to Islam - not because they are forced to, but because they find that the religion offers simple answers and beliefs which they seek. This has European authorities worried about the future of violence and terrorism.
Saudi Women Making Gains
In Saudi Arabia, 2 women have been elected to seats on the 12-member board of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce. This isn't exactly a social earthquake, but it is a significant step. Religious conservatives certainly recognize this, which is why they have been working hard to undermine any progress being made.
Women to Blame for Being Raped?
There's an old myth that women who report being raped were actually 'asking for it' in some manner. Unfortunately, this myth isn't so old: a recent survey finds that a disturbing percentage of people in Britain believe that women do indeed bear at least some responsibility for being raped if, for example, they dress provocatively.
Police Told to Be More Tolerant of Spousal Abuse Among Muslims
Some police in Australia have been told that they should treat domestic violence among Muslims differently than among other people. The reason is 'respect' for Islamic cultural traditions - here, 'respect' is being used as a cover for allowing religion-based abuse and violence to continue.
Britain May Ban Forced Marriages
Forced marriages, sometimes while the women are still actually children, are common in some regions of southern Asia. Because of the number of immigrants from this region, forced marriages have become a growing problem in Britain - a problem with authorities are considering acting against. Some fear, though, that police action will force the practice further underground.
Religion, Women, and Violence
Most religions tend to accord women a lower social, spiritual, and moral status than men. This is surely just a reflection of common social and political beliefs, but unfortunately religion lends divine or transcendental weight to common human prejudices. Overcoming these prejudices thus requires overcoming traditional religious beliefs as well.
Pakistan: Musharraf Claims Women Want to get Raped
Pakistan has a problem with how women are treated in its society. One especially egregious issue is the way women can be raped on orders from elders who see rape as punishment for something done by the woman's male relatives. Pakistan's president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, thinks that some women choose to be raped to get a visa to travel abroad.
Atheist Women Envy Muslim Women?
Islamic tradition forces women into an inferior role in society because it is assumed that men won't be able to control themselves around women. Instead of blaming men and getting men to exercise self-control, women are segregated for the good of society. Some Muslims can't seem to understand why everyone doesn't think this is a good idea.
What the Sharia Means
Some people were hoping that Ontario would authorize the use of sharia (Muslim law) when it comes to family matters, but Premier Dalton McGuinty has rejected that - and with good reason, too. There would have been real suffering if Muslim law had been allowed to replace secular law.
France: Headscarf Ban Appears to be Working
France's decision to ban headscarves in public schools received a great deal of criticism, but after a year now the policy appears to be working. Muslim schoolgirls are not suffering from not wearing headscarves, but they are free from the pressure of extremists to wear them all the time.
India: Female Politicians Must Be Veiled
In Deoband, India, a highly influential Islamic seminary has declared that Muslim women cannot appear in public as politicians unless they are veiled. To do otherwise would be contradictory to Islamic law.
Women's Role in Society (Book Notes: Ungodly Women)
What place should women have in society? Traditionally, a woman's place has been inferior to that of the average man. Whatever is considered most valuable in society is placed under the direction of men; whatever is considered less valuable is given to women to care for - even when people ostensible know better.
Sex Differences: Men and Women in American Culture
"Americans, being an individualistic culture, tend to ascribe the origins of people's difficulties to something in them--low motivation, bad personality, wonky hormones, or a gene for laziness. (They make personality attributions even when, in experiments, they have been explicitly informed that the other person is doing what they were ordered to do.)"
Female Circumcision in Iraq
The practice of female circumcision, better described as female genital mutilation, appears to have a foothold in Iraq. How far the practice will go is uncertain; what is certain, though, is that increasing numbers of women will suffer.
Philadelphia: Muslims Work Against Spousal Abuse
The Muslim community has a serious problem with how women are treated. Muslim traditions do not accord women a fully equal status with men in the social, familial, or political realms. If Islam is going to move forward, it's going to have to improve how women are treated. Some Muslims do understand this and are trying to move out in front of the issue.
Saudis Flirt Via Bluetooth
There is strict segregation of sexes in Saudi Arabia. Men and women who don't know each other simply aren't allowed to interact socially in public - this makes it difficult to meet members of the opposite sex who aren't previously approved of by family members. Technology, though, is making such separation more difficult to maintain.
Ohio Republican Charlie Winburn: Wives Must Be Taught Boundaries
Charlie Winburn is pastor of the Ridge Acres Christian Center and a Republican mayoral candidate in Cincinnati. He also believes that women should learn their place in life - something that is getting him in some trouble. Unfortunately, people criticizing him are also getting in some trouble.
Women's Rights: A Disease That Should Be Eradicated
I've written a couple of times about Vox Day, a "libertarian" Christian whose politics are one part authoritarianism, one part religious fascism, and one part sheer nuttiness. He's been making headlines again, and for all three reasons.
Christian Gender Gap
Women tend to be more religious than men. More devoutly religious people tend to vote Republican rather than Democrat. Logically speaking, then, women should vote Republican more than men - but just the opposite is the case. What is going on?
Iran Cracking Down on Young Women
Iran is ultimately a theocratic society; as such, people who ignore religious laws do so at their own risk. Young Iranians have been trying to live freer lives for a while now and to an extent they have managed to get away with it. Now, however, it appears that the government is tired of it - and they may be targeting young women.
Santorum: Feminism Encourages Women to Work Outside the Home
In his most recent book, Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum expresses the idea that one of the drawbacks of modern feminism is that it encouraged women to work outside the home. How horrible! Women should stay at home and raise children - that's their god-given role in life, right?
Culture War in Europe: Sex & Islam
The conflict between European Muslims and other Europeans seems to be increasing. Although the conflict can take many forms, most of the time the problems can be reduced to a couple of simple problems: Muslims have very different attitudes towards sex, sexuality, and the role of women, than do secular Europeans or even pious Christian Europeans.
Canada: Nine Women to Become Catholic Priests
The Catholic Church doesn't officially ordain female priests, but that isn't stopping nine women in Canada. On July 25, the women intend to be ordained on the river near Gananoque. The spot is considered "international waters" and, therefore, outside the jurisdictional reach of any diocese.
India: Tour Guide Praises Suttee?
The British outlawed suttee (the ancient practice of women leaping into their husband's funeral pyres) in 1829, but it remains a controversial issue. A recently-published guidebook for the tourist spot of Rajasthan appears to glorify suttee and this has human rights advocates outraged.
Kansas: Women's Suffrage Critic Running for Office
In 2001, Kay O'Connor suggested that the 19th amendment which gave women the right to vote was a bad idea, Now, she (yes, she) intends to run for Secretary of State in Kansas. The GOP is actually going to support her, it seems - and if they do, they should be held accountable for her views, including the view that perhaps women shouldn't vote.
Malaysia: Muslim Women Fighting for Equal Rights
Islam in Malaysia isn't as repressive as it can be elsewhere. There are Malaysians who want to change that, but there are also many who don't. One group of women has been active in promoting the idea that equal rights for women is a basic part of Islam - and they have been successful.
What Will We Do With Women?
The Christian Right is hostile towards women having a fully equal status in society. At every point, the Christian Right has opposed measures designed to improve equality and the treatment of women. One of their key tactics in this, however, isn't always obviously related to the issue.
Afghanistan: Women Continue to Suffer
America was supposed to have "liberated" Afghanistan from the grip of the Taliban, but many things haven't changed or at least haven't changed much - for example, the abusive and violent treatment of women. Imagine Germany in 1947 where Jews are still abused and discriminated against. Would people permit that?
Teacher: Girl a 'Slut' for Kissing
At the Mother McAuley Liberal Arts High School in Chicago, a student had to go to the hospital because she contracted mononucleosis. People can catch this through kissing, but one of Rebecca Alvarado's teachers suggested to other students that Alvarado was a slut for catching the disease.
Dr. Hager's Family Values & the Christian Right's War on Women
W. David Hager is a Kentucky obstetrician, member of the advisory committee of the FDA, evangelical Christian, and outspoken opponent of abortion, stem-cell research, and contraceptives. Good Housekeeping named him "among the best doctors for women in the nation." Reports from his ex-wife suggest that he raped her repeatedly over the years.
Sheik Blames Women for Being Raped
There was a time when people assumed that women were at fault for being raped - in some way, they must have encouraged the rapist. In the West this attitude has mostly disappeared, but it still seems to exist among Muslims. Why?
Protect Your Womb!
One of the curious features of the Christian Right's agenda for America has been the way it treats women as little more than baby-makers. For them, a woman is defined by the fact that she can bear a child, not by anything she actually does or accomplishes in her life.
Irshad Manji, Sill Riling Muslim Extremists
Irshad Manji's The Trouble with Islam: A Muslim's Call for Reform in Her Faith continues to sell and continues to make conservative Muslims uncomfortable. That's a good thing, I think, because so long as religious leaders are "comfortable," they won't be making progress or improvements in things like their treatment of women.
Kuwait: Women Denied Right to Vote
Women in Kuwait will retain their second-class status after Islamist legislators blocked a plan to let them vote. Reformers had been optimistic, but conservative Muslims had their way and it's not clear if or when a new vote on the issue will occur.
Defrocked Lesbian Minister Wins Appeal
Elizabeth Stroud is a lesbian minister who was defrocked last year after a United Methodist court ruled that she had violated a rule against "practicing homosexuals" serving in the clergy. Now an appeals committee has overturned the verdict.
Honor Killings in Jordan
slam has a serious problem with so-called "honor killings." They aren't exactly an epidemic, but what is epidemic are the excuses and rationalizations. The fact that honor killings are accepted by Muslims all over the world is a sign of tremendous disrespect towards women.
Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Dutch Politics
Dutch politician Ayaan Hirsi Ali has become famous for her opposition to Islamic extremism and her blunt criticisms of how Islam - even "moderate" Islam - traditionally treats women. This has forced her into hiding out of fear of "peaceful" Muslims, thus demonstrating that her criticisms are appropriate.
Gaza: Virtue & Vice Commandos Murder Woman
Terrorist organization Hamas has a new "vice and virtue" commando going around and imposing their ideas of morality on people. It's already gotten one woman killed because she was out in public with her fiance. Who's next?
Pakistan: Extremists Attack Female Runners
Muslim extremists have struck again in Pakistan, this time attacking female runners who wanted to run a marathon with men. The women were dressed in heavy, concealing clothing rather than western-style running gear, but that didn't matter to the religious thugs.
Blogsnark: How to Discipline Your Wife
If Christianity teaches that women are to be subordinate to men, then how should men take care of ensuring that women are properly "trained" to accept male leadership? Fortunately for godly men, there are plenty of ideas out there.
New York: Woman Leads Muslim Prayer Service
In New York City, a Muslim woman recently led prayer services at a mosque; Muslim religious leaders in the Middle East are not happy about that. Is this a violation of religious law? No, it's contrary to tradition - thus demonstrating that treating Muslim as second-class citizens is part of the tradition.
Germany: Honor Killings Epidemic
So-called "honor killings" of Muslim women have increased sharply in Germany recently. In the past four months alone, six women have been murdered by their own families. Why? Because they wanted to live more Western lives. Evidently, women deserve to die for that — but if living a Western life is so awful, why live in the West in the first place?
Female Police = Political Correctness?
One of the images that commonly accompanies the story of Brian Nichols, charged with murdering several people in an Atlanta courtroom, is that of a female police office escorting him. A number of conservatives have taken this image and used it to attack the very idea of having women in the police.
Why the Veil Matters
What's the big deal about girls wearing veils to school? If it's a part of their religion and culture, why should government officials care - and why should feminist activists care, for that matter? The reason is that there is more going on here than simple religious expression.
A Woman's Place in Christianity
Christianity has not been very supportive of women, historically speaking. Much of the time women have been denigrated and forced into a second-class status. This was true right from the earliest years of Christianity and has continued down through today.
Women Should Not Play Sports
Women's sports has been growing steadily for the past couple of decades, in large part because of government mandates that women's sports be funded equally at all educational levels. Some see this encouraging pagan and humanistic attitudes. Playing sports competitively prevents women from learning how to be meek and humbly serve their husbands.
Virginia: Proposal to Require Women Report All Miscarriages
In what many will perceive as a sign of the growing lunacy of the Christian Right, Delegate John Cosgrove has introduced a bill in Virginia that would require all women to report a miscarriage within 12 hours or risk 12 months in jail and a USD $2,500 fine. Lunacy? No, it's quite consistent and expected within the Christian Right's war on abortion.
Irshad Manji Is Still Around
Irshad Manji's book The Trouble with Islam caused a great deal of controversy but we haven't heard from the author in a while. She hasn't disappeared, though - she's just been busy getting her book translated and promoted in Muslim nations.
Fears for European Muslim Women Who Speak Out
Islam is not very kind towards women, especially when compared to the rights and freedoms women in the secular West have. Unfortunately, even Muslim women in the secular West experience great difficulty and are sometimes too afraid to speak out on issues that are important to them.
NOW: National Organization of Witches?
The Christian Right is, in some ways, a product of the battle against modern feminism. The organizational structure for it was originally created by those who successfully mounted the opposition to the Equal Rights Amendment. These anti-feminist roots have not been forgotten and continue to constitute an important basis of the Christian Right's anti-modern agenda.
Christian Right's War on Women's Choices
Not content to criminalize abortion, conservative Christians in America are also seeking to eliminate women's access to birth control pills. Their tactic is to get doctors to refuse to prescribe them pharmacists to refuse to fill the prescriptions and they are gaining some success in this.
Stained-Glass Ceiling
More and more women are being ordained into various Christian churches in America, but their success stalls because being ordained doesn't lead to the credibility, respect, or positions of authority typically seen by their male counterparts. Religious leadership is still a man's world in America.
Phyllis Schlafly vs. Reality
Phyllis Schlafly is an important figure in America's Christian Right. Sometimes she has something insightful and intelligent to offer on the news, but usually what she writes is so bizarre and false one has to wonder whether she actually lives in the same reality as everyone else. This problem seems to be getting worse and I wonder if she is mentally stable.
Women Organize to Fight Fundamentalism
Women are frequently the first targets of religious fundamentalism - by controlling women, fundamentalists are in a better position to control families and society in general. Women also tend to suffer the most in fundamentalist systems, losing more of their rights than just about anyone else.
Bangladesh Halts Female Swimming
Muslim extremists in Bangladesh have managed to put a halt to a women's swimming competition. According to the religious fundamentalists, it would have been offensive for women to wear swimsuits in any public venue. What if the women were offended by the extremists' prudery?
Hell in Germany: Muslim Women Suffering Violent Abuse
A common problem in Muslims communities in many secular Western nations is the presence of violence against women. In Islam, women don't have the same status or rights as men; this can lead to pretty awful treatment and even physical abuse which may not be mandated by Islam, but also isn't always negated by it.
Michigan: Sexist Imam Speaks to Students
Islamic traditions do not conceive of women generally having the same rights and privileges in society as do men. This attitude was put on display at Western Michigan University recently when Imam Siraj Wahhaj of Masjid Al-Taqwa mosque in Brooklyn, N.Y., gave a talk on how women should be restricted to only certain roles.
Being a Woman in Afghanistan
The Taliban has been defeated - well, not entirely, but they don't have as much power anymore - yet conditions for women in Afghanistan haven't improved as much as they should have. Women are still treated as second-class citizens because the men simply refuse to recognize them as social or political equals. It's amazing that they are even treated like human beings.
Iran: 13-Year-Old Girl Sentenced to Death for Incest
In Iran, a 13-year-old girl has been sentenced to death because her 15-year-old brother got her pregnant. The boy, of course, doesn't face a death sentence - he'll only be whipped 150 times with a lash. Zhila Izadi just gave birth to her child so now she is eligible for stoning by the community.
Saudi Arabia: Women to be Barred from Voting
In Saudi Arabia, women will be denied the right to vote in the upcoming 2005 elections. Women, then, will continue to have a second-class status in the most theocratic Muslim nation and the nation which controls the holiest places of Islam. It's fair for outsiders to regard this as a legitimate expression of the values and ideals of Islam.
Iran Curbing Women's Rights
As religious conservatives in Iran gain more power, the rights of the people begin to reduce. The first to feel the pinch are, of course, Iranian women: hardliners want to severely curtail the rights and freedoms women have managed to eke out over the past years.
Netherlands: Graphic Film on Muslim Domestic Violence
Conflicts between conservative Muslims and the liberal Western democracies they live in are on the increase. In the Netherlands, Somali-born MP Ayaan Hirsi Ali has created a provocative short film about the Muslim abuse of women that is creating a lot of controversy.
Jihad Magazine for Women
Islamic extremism is usually discussed in the context of men. Islam is a religion dominated by the male point of view and that goes doubly for Islamic extremism. Extremist leaders are all men and suicide bombers are almost all men. What, however, becomes of the women? There are women involved here, after all.
Religion, Women's Rights, Human Rights
Women's rights aren't so much a special subset of human rights as they are an important foundation for human rights. Because of that, actions that restrict women's right affect all of us and serve to undermine human rights generally. Why is it that so many such actions are done in the name of religion?
Norway: Porn Star Receives Death Threats
A contestant for Miss Norway had to drop out because of revelations that she stared in a couple of pornographic films. As if that weren't bad enough, this Iranian-born woman is now receiving death threats from Muslim extremists - extremists in Norway.
Iran: Unchaste 16-year-old Girl Executed?
Draconian Islamic laws may have claimed another victim. There are reports that a 16-year-old girl, Ateqeh Rajabi, in Neka in the northern Iranian province of Mazandaran, has been executed for "acts incompatible with chastity." Perhaps some Iranian clerics should be executed for "acts incompatible with humanity."
Turkey Getting Tough on "Honor"
As more light is shined on the practice, more governments are beginning to crack down on the old and barbaric practice of "honor" killings. Whereas before men who murdered female relatives in order to maintain family honor were often treated with deference, now they are starting to be treated like the vicious criminals they are.
Controversy Over Women Praying at College Mosque
In Kerala, India, female students are given the same rights in a student mosque as the male students - that, however, has upset many male Muslims who want the women kicked out. The administration, however, won't get involved and kick them out.
Islam and Women's Rights
There has been a lot of criticism of Islam for the way that women are treated in Muslim societies. It is argued that the poor treatment of women reflects the current inability of Muslim societies to become free, democratic states. But is this criticism justified?
Brothel Workers in Iran
In 2003, Iranian delegates to the UN Commission on the Status of Women rejected a draft declaration calling on signatories to 'condemn violence against women and refrain from invoking any custom, tradition, or religious consideration to avoid their obligations with respect to its elimination.'? Want to learn about some of the consequences?
Culture and Honor Killings
One of the goals of the occupation of Iraq is to create a stable, functioning democracy in the hope that this will lead to the flourishing of democracy across the Middle East. Aside from the question of whether democracy can be imposed from above, there is the question of how compatible Iraqi and Arab culture right now are with the basic requirements of democratic institutions.
Honor Killing over Molestation, Gynecological Exam
A Turkish immigrant in Scottsville, New York has been charged with the murder of his wife. He claims that his actions were taken as a matter of 'honor.' Why? He attacked his wife and 22-year-old daughter after learning that they had been molested by the man's brother. He tried to kill his four-year-old daughter because she had been 'sullied'? by a gynecological exam.
Girls Poisoned for Going to School
After the "liberation" of Afghanistan, it was hoped that there would be greater freedom for everyone in that country - but especially the women, who were repressed by the Taliban. Unfortunately, not all of those freedoms have materialized because while the Taliban may be out of power, the extremists are still everywhere, attacking those who step out of line.
Muslim Woman Attacked in Florida
For the most part, Muslims in America have not had to endure hate crimes on account of the terrorism committed by other Muslims in the world. It's not as if they have been completely immune to bigotry and violence, but incidents have generally been few and far between. Unfortunately, that won't be much comfort to a woman beaten in Florida because of her Islamic headscarf.
How To Beat Your Wife
Are you a man interested in learning more about how best to beat your wife? Are you a woman who thinks that she could stand to be better corrected and disciplined by her husband? Well, have no fear - there are many, many Muslim clerics in the world who are anxious to help educate men about how to properly beat their wives in order to ensure marital bliss.
Saudi Coverup in British Woman's Death?
Have Saudi officials been covering up a British woman's death for 25 years? Have British officials been complicit in this cover-up? Ron Smith, father of Helen Smith who died at a party in Saudi Arabia, think so and for the past quarter century he's been on a quest to see that justice is done and the truth is revealed.
Thailand: "No Women Allowed"? in Buddhist Temples
Should women be allowed into Buddhist temples or even ordained? They aren't (normally) in Thailand, but there are efforts to change things and the "old guard" of Buddhist monks aren't at all happy about it. Buddhism, like many other religions, has a long history of treating women like second class citizens and some women are trying to change things.
Breast Exposure in the 1700s
In America today, the exposure of a woman's breast is often treated as a scandal - the controversy surrounding the 'wardrobe malfunction' of Janet Jackson is a good example. Evidence suggests, however, that the exposure of one or both breasts was relatively common in the 1600s for women of all social levels.
Pakistan Passes Honor Killing Law
A problem that plagues South-Asian nations like India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh is a concept of "honor" that keeps women secluded and validates the murder of female relatives if they besmirch the "honor" of the family. Pakistan is finally moving against this and treating it like a genuine crime.
Britain: Muslim Fathers Sell Daughters For Arranged Marriages
In Britain, many women in immigrant families from Southeast Asia are suffering - their families are forcing them into marriages with Muslim men who treat them abhorrently. Physical abuse, psychological abuse, and even sexual abuse are occurring far too often.
Iran Executing Mentally Ill Girls
The Iranian mullahs' treatment of women and girls keeps sliding deeper and deeper into depravity. Now they have sentenced a teenage girl with the mental age of 8 to death. Her crime: "acts contrary to chastity" because she was sold for sex.