In the lives of many European women, religion continues to play an important role. In fact, whether they are believers or not, most women are affected in one way or another by the attitude of different faiths towards women, directly or through their traditional influence on society or the State. This influence is seldom benign: women’s rights are often curtailed or violated in the name of religion. All women living in Council of Europe member states have a right to equality and dignity in all areas of life. Freedom of religion must not be accepted as a pretext for justifying violations of women’s rights, be they open, subtle, legal or illegal, practiced with or without the nominal consent of the victims – women. It is the duty of the member states of the Council of Europe to protect women against violations of their rights in the name of religion and to promote and fully implement gender equality. States must not accept any religious or cultural relativism of women’s human rights.
The Parliamentary Assembly should thus call on the member states of the Council of Europe to take the necessary measures to fully protect all women living in their country against violations of their rights based on or attributed to religion and to take a stand against violations of women’s human rights justified by religious or cultural relativism everywhere.

Collection: Texts

Project: 10. Churches and religions in Europe.

Chronology: 21st century

Scope: Secondary Education, Higher Education

Link: https://www.refworld.org/docid/43a97a9c6.html

Resource type: Report

Format: Texts

Source: Council of Europe: Parliamentary Assembly

Language: English

Date: 2005

Owner: Filippo Galletti (Modernalia)

Copyright: Council of Europe: Parliamentary Assembly

Abstract: Report by the Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men, Parliamentary Assembly, Council of Europe