Culture, religion, and CEDAW's article 5 (A)

Frances Raday*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

8 Scopus citations

Abstract

The clash between culture, religion, and women's equality with men has become a major issue in the global arena. Such conflicts arise in the context of almost all orthodox religions and traditionalist cultures and result in barriers to women's rights that vary in form and severity. My interest in this topic goes back to 1974, when, as a young lecturer, I introduced the first course in feminist studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. I quickly discovered- and at that time there was no general awareness of the fact-that the three monotheisms, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, whose religious courts have jurisdiction over marriage and divorce in Israel, all impose patriarchal institutions and norms-both religious and secular-on the women of the three communities. I became convinced that, without a transformation of religious patriarchy by decree of the constitutional system, women could not gain full equality. Furthermore, with time, I came to understand that, without the dismantling of patriarchy within the religions, traditionalist women would have no right to equal religious personhood. I was convinced that the importance of religion to a significant section of society and the movement of religious principles into general political discourse would remain a hard core of patriarchal politics so long as this transformation did not take place. In research, teaching, and feminist lobbying and litigation, I have attempted to contribute to this transformation in Israel. From the early 1990s, I represented the Women of the Wall in their petitions before the Supreme Court of Israel, asking for the right to worship in an egalitarian way: to pray from the Torah scroll, draped in prayer shawls, in group prayer in the prayer plaza of the Western Wall-all against violent objections of ultra-Orthodox worshipers.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationThe Circle of Empowerment
Pages68-85
Number of pages18
Volume9781558617896
StatePublished - 2007

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2007 by The Feminist Press.

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