scholarly journals Navigating the Tensions: Women’s Rights, Religion and Freedom of Religion or Belief

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 67-92
Author(s):  
Nazila Ghanea
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Women's Rights ◽  
Freedom Of Religion ◽  
Women’S Rights ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
International Treaties ◽  
Advocacy Groups ◽  
Rights Of The Child ◽  
Women's Equality ◽  
Human Rights Norms

Abstract Despite the normative integration between freedom of religion or belief (FORB) and women’s equality, these synergies are difficult to discern and there is a common misperception that women’s rights to equality and FORB are clashing rights. This is compounded by the extensive religiously phrased reservations by states upon ratification of international treaties that amplify this misperception that FORB serves to restrict women’s rights to equality. The advocacy groups supporting these rights, and also their normative sources in international human rights law instruments, are largely distinct. However, general non-discrimination provisions do address both, and General Comment no. 28 captures both rights holistically. The correctives to these misperceptions lie in reflecting upon the universality, indivisibility, interdependence, and interrelatedness of all human rights norms. They also lie in the realization that FORB is a right like any other. FORB is neither a right of “religion” as such nor an instrument for support of religiously phrased reservations and limitations on women’s rights to equality. This is particularly the case with harmful practices, as elaborated in the joint general recommendation/General Comment no. 31 of the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and no. 18 of the Committee on the Rights of the Child however, the core principles also extend to other infringements of women’s rights to equality. It is essential to (re)vitalize the synergies between FORB and women’s equality in order to advance each of these rights, to be able to address overlapping rights concerns, and to adequately acknowledge intersectional claims. Furthermore, the relevant advocacy groups and human rights mechanisms need to give further attention to this as a priority matter.

scholarly journals Equality and Nondiscrimination Through the Eyes of an International Religious Organization: The Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s (OIC) Response to Women’s Rights

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert C. Blitt
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Women's Rights ◽  
Family Values ◽  
Women’S Rights ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Political Rights ◽  
Intergovernmental Organization ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Human Rights Norms ◽  
The Right

This article is the first of a two part series that draws on women‘s rights and sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) to explore how the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) represents, interprets and seeks to impact the right to equality and protection against discrimination as enshrined under international human rights law. The study is a novel one inasmuch as the OIC is neither a state nor a religious group per se. Rather, the OIC stands out as the only contemporary intergovernmental organization unifying its member states around the commonality of a single religion. In this capacity, the organization maintains no direct obligations or rights under key instruments such as the Universal Declaration on Human Rights (UDHR) or the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).Nevertheless, as part of its mandate representing 57 predominantly Muslim states, the OIC has increasingly asserted a role for itself on the international stage as "the collective voice of the Muslim world." This new assertiveness is particularly evident in the context of debates surrounding the content of human rights norms in international fora such as the United Nations, where the OIC has sought to develop common policy positions and encourage its members to vote as a bloc on issues of concern. Against this backdrop, the article concludes that supporters of universal human rights norms need to better understand how the OIC‘s mission to "protect and defend the true image of Islam" may impact international debates over the substance of equality and nondiscrimination norms, and develop appropriate responses to these efforts as a means to ensure that universality is not undermined.This article begins with a brief introduction to the OIC, and proceeds to explore its relationship with the principles of equality and nondiscrimination by examining its founding document and other relevant primary sources. With this understanding in place, the paper turns to examine the OIC‘s contemporary handling of these principles as manifested in debates surrounding women‘s rights as well as the relevance and impact of "Islamic family values" on the scope of those rights. This article‘s exploration of "family values" also serves as a pivot point to begin framing rights issues related to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Intersex (LGBTI) individuals and related SOGI issues. Throughout this examination, the role of the OIC‘s newly established Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission (IPHRC) is considered as a means of appraising whether a shift in the OIC‘s position may be forthcoming.

scholarly journals Analysis and Review of Wife Inheritance and the Parents of the Deceased in the Religions with Holy Book

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 270
Author(s):  
Ahmad Reza Behniafar ◽  
Maryam Saadat Eftekhariyan
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Women's Rights ◽  
Women’S Rights ◽  
Careful Study ◽  
International Treaties ◽  
Critical Argument ◽  
Comparative Review ◽  
Primary Focus ◽  
Holy Book

<p>To talk about human rights in the new and modern format and is one of the most important features of the contemporary era and in which, the rights of women is of particular importance. Elimination of legal discrimination due to gender, in different aspects of the life of human rights, with emphasis on women's rights forms the primary focus of all regional and international treaties and Declaration of women's rights. Defending financial rights of women including women's inheritance right is a critical argument.</p>With a careful study, we find that in various religions, wife inheritance is accepted and in divine religions (with the holy book). This issue has been respected and regarding form, there are similarities between the religions about the wife inheritance, However, apart from similarities, regarding essence, they have legislative differences. So in this seminar, the wife inheritance in divine religions is explained and analyzed, and comparative review of wife and parents estate of deceased in different religions is done so the problems in this regard can be obviated.

scholarly journals United Nations endorsement and support for human rights: An experiment on women’s rights in Pakistan

2020 ◽  
pp. 002234332091283
Author(s):  
Gulnaz Anjum ◽  
Adam Chilton ◽  
Zahid Usman
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Women's Rights ◽  
Women’S Rights ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Policy Reforms ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
International Human ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
New Policies

The United Nations is one of the organizations charged with developing and promoting international human rights law. One of the primary ways that the United Nations tries to do that is by regularly reviewing the human rights practices of member states and then recommending new policies for that state to implement. Although this expends considerable resources, a number of obstacles have made it difficult to empirically assess whether the UN’s review process actually causes countries to improve their human rights practices. To study this topic, we conducted an experiment in Pakistan that tested whether respondents were more likely to support policies aimed at improving women’s rights when they learned that the reforms were proposed by the United Nations. Our results indicate that the respondents who were randomly informed of the United Nations endorsement not only expressed higher support for the policy reforms, but also were more likely to express willingness to ‘mobilize’ in ways that would help the reforms be implemented. Our treatment did not have any effect, however, on respondents that did not already have confidence in the United Nations. This suggests that the international human rights regime may only be able to aid domestic reformers when there is already faith in those institutions.

scholarly journals Globalisation Of Women’s Rights Norms: The Right To Manifest Religion And ‘Orientalism’ In The Council Of Europe

2009 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlotte Helen Skeet
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Women's Rights ◽  
Freedom Of Expression ◽  
Women’S Rights ◽  
Council Of Europe ◽  
Equality Rights ◽  
Human Rights Norms ◽  
The Right ◽  
Domestic Law ◽  
General Indicator

Women’s access to and enjoyment of human rights are increasingly being used as a global measure of other “goods” in societies: for instance as a measure of development, a gauge of the health and depth of democracy and as a general indicator of a state commitment and adherence to international responsibilities. Therefore, while the study of women’s relationship to human rights is of considerable importance and interest in itself it is also gaining prominence across a range of other areas of international and domestic law. This might be viewed as a positive indication of the growing strength of women’s human rights norms but it bears closer analysis. Also within this discourse on women’s rights what rights norms are being globalised and how is this occurring? This paper considers how supposedly universalist rhetorics around equality rights can advance ‘orientalist’ and patriarchal discourses in relation to who “women” are and how their rights may be realised. Such discourses may hinder implementation of women’s rights especially for women who are “other.” This is particularly evident in relation to women’s rights to freedom of expression, the manifestation of religious freedom and rights to participate in culture. To illustrate this specific focus is given to the increasing discrimination against Muslim women and to human rights responses in this context within Europe.

16. Women’s rights

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dianne Otto
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Law ◽  
Women's Rights ◽  
Gender Mainstreaming ◽  
Innovative Approach ◽  
Women’S Rights ◽  
Strong Version ◽  
Substantive Equality ◽  
Women's Equality ◽  
The Law

This chapter examines women’s rights. Section 2 describes the treatment of women in international law prior to the adoption of the UN Charter, in order to highlight the significance of the subsequent shift to the promotion of women’s equality. It examines the non-discrimination approach favoured by the drafters of the founding human rights instruments, highlighting the importance of the approach as well as some of its limitations. Section 3 examines the innovative approach taken in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, the drafters of which aimed to address the problems attending the concept of non-discrimination by promoting a strong version of women’s substantive equality. Section 4 considers the strategy of ‘gender mainstreaming’ adopted in the 1990s, which sought to reinterpret mainstream human rights to be inclusive of women’s experiences. Section 5 concludes by highlighting some continuing obstacles presented by the law itself, which prevent women from successfully claiming and enjoying human rights.

scholarly journals Concept of Culture Relativism and Women’s Rights in Sub-Saharan Africa

2019 ◽  
Vol 54 (8) ◽  
pp. 1145-1158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Norah Hashim Msuya
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Gender Equality ◽  
Women's Rights ◽  
Cultural Practices ◽  
Secondary Analysis ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Women’S Rights ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Human Rights Norms

This article discusses the challenges of the realization of women’s rights in relation to the concept of culture relativism in sub-Saharan Africa. It examines how the concept of culture is misconstrued with a traditional hierarchy and patriarchy approach that intervenes in the realization of women’s rights in sub-Saharan African states. Many societies are concerned that the promotion of gender equality would interfere with local culture; hence they feel that gender equality should not be promoted for ethical reasons. Women have been left with the unpleasant situation of choosing between their rights or their culture. Through secondary analysis and a critical review of the literature, the article engages in the debate on cultural diversity and gender equality, to challenge the existing stereotypes in sub-Saharan African cultures. It argues that traditional and cultural practices should adhere to the values of equality and human rights. The article proposes that cultural considerations will have to yield whenever a clear conflict with human rights norms becomes apparent.

Human Rights Universalism in Practice: What the Iranian Women’s Rights Movement Can Teach Us

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 453-479
Author(s):  
Nicole Nickerson
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Women's Rights ◽  
Global Network ◽  
Women’S Rights ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
Women's Rights Movement ◽  
International Human

Abstract Does practice demonstrate the legitimacy of international human rights law? This article explores this question via a case study of the women’s rights movement in Iran. Current human rights sceptics question the system’s legitimacy because of a lack of universality and an excessive top-down approach. However, the Islamic Republic of Iran has a remarkable community of grassroots activists. The bottom-up women’s rights initiative of the One Million Signatures Campaign utilised human rights discourse in combination with local, indigenous values in pursuit of gender equality. The article argues—via the case study of this movement—that there is practical evidence to support a theory of human rights universalism, as positive human rights law empowers the existing subjectivity of individuals. The universal legitimacy of international human rights law does not primarily come from a global network dictating common values, but from members of civil society mobilising their status as rights holders.

Islamic Shari’ah and the Rights of Women: The Maldives’ Thirst for International Human Rights Norms of Equality and Non-Discrimination

2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shamsul Falaah
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Women's Rights ◽  
Women’S Rights ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
The Status ◽  
Muslim Majority ◽  
International Human ◽  
Human Rights Norms

AbstractThe topic of the rights of women is a contentious and diverse one; it continues to fuel debates in both Muslim-majority and other countries. In principle, all agree that women are entitled to rights. However, particularly in Muslim-majority countries, there is a fierce debate about how and to what extent women are entitled to certain rights. On the one hand, some scholars advocate for the rights of women without deference to gender inequality or discrimination in comparison with men, while on the other hand, other scholars try to defend the inequalities and discriminations that arise from religious or cultural norms. In this regard, the literature relating to the status of women’s rights in the Muslim-majority countries gives rise to vigorous criticism. Much of this criticism relates only to the domestic laws of specific countries and their interaction with the broader international human rights norms. Although there is some discussion about the status of women’s rights in the Maldives, this discussion occurs only in Non-Governmental Organizations (both local and international) and in international forums; apart from an occasional passing mention of the Maldives in other areas of debate, thus far, there has been no academic discourse devoted to the rights of women in the Maldives and their relationship to the international human rights norms of equality and non-discrimination. This article contributes to filling this gap by studying the status of the two norms of international human rights – equality and non-discrimination, in the Maldivian context. The study hypothesises that there are potential tensions within these two norms arising out of the incorporation of Islam in the Maldivian Constitution and that these tensions can be harmonized through the techniques and tools of Islamic Shari’ah. The research finds that a

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