Religious Fundamentalisms and the Human Rights of Women

COURTNEY W. HOWLAND is Visiting Scholar in Residence at the International Women's Human Rights Center at Georgetown University Law Center.

'This is an informative and empowering book on the troubled relationship between religious fundamentalisms and women's rights. The book does not only offer analyses of this relationsip and the difficulities experienced by women from all religious traditions in the face of sexist fundamentalism, it also moves towards alternatives in this relationship...It is imperative for South African society to take not of this book, its analyses and proposals.' - Professor Christina Landman, RITR, University of South Africa, Pretoria 'Howland's book is valuable for the insights that its essays offer into the devices and arguments that extremists use in different religious settings (Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism) to camouflage male dominance and package it as sacred, eternal and transcendent divine law. The book clarifies underlying similarities among the religions, while also noting some striking areas of divergence.' - Fatema Mernissi, Institute Universitaire De Recherche Scientifique, Universite Mohamed V, Rabat, Morocco 'This book is essential reading for anyone interested in understanding the significant dual role that religions play in both disempowering and empowering women in different societies.' - Rebecca J. Cook, University of Toronto 'This book is a fascinating collection of essays representing perspectives of anthropology, law, theology and philosophy. It is a must for anyone interested in feminist studies, cultural relativism or human rights. The diversity of approaches to a complex phenomenon is truly astounding.' - Christoph H. Schreuer, Johns Hopkins University

• Foreword; T.Buergenthal PART I: INTRODUCTION Religious Fundamentalism as a Transnational and Cross-Cultural Movement and the Legal Effect on Women; C.W.Howland PART II: SOCIAL AND POLITICAL SCIENCES PERSPECTIVES ON THE IMPACT OF RELIGIOUS FUNDAMENTALISM ON WOMEN Fundamentalism; J.S.Hawley Christian Fundamentalism; S.D.Rose Responses of Women to Islamic Fundamentalism; M.A.Helie-Lucas The Personal is Political; N.Yuval-Davis PART III: RESPONSES TO RELIGIOUS FUNDAMENTALIST ASSERTIONS OF CULTURAL RELATIVISM Relativism, Culture, Religion, and Identity; M.Singer Cultural Relativism and International Law; C.Chinkin Gender Apartheid and the Discourse of Relativity of Rights in Muslim Societies; M.Afkhami Different but Free; R.Coomaraswamy PART IV: THE INTERNATIONAL LEGAL FRAMEWORK Safeguarding Women's Political Freedoms Under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in the Face of Religious Fundamentalism; C.W.Howland Religious Reservations to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women; A.E.Mayer Women's Equal Right to Freedom of Religion or Belief; B.G.Tahzib-Lie Religious Fundamentalism and Education of the Girl Child Under International Law; D.Fottrell & G.Van Bueren PART V: MEETING THE CHALLENGES IN DIFFERENT RELIGIONS AND DIFFERENT COUNTRIES The Two Faces of Secularism and Women's Rights in India; R.Kapur Religion, Multiculturalism and Feminism; F.Raday Family Disputes Involving Muslims in Contemporary Europe; M.C.Foblets PART VI: THE WAR OVER WOMEN'S BODIES The Effect of Religious Fundamentalism on Women's Reproductive Health; L.Freedman Roman Catholic Fundamentalism; F.Kissling Reconciling the Opposites; A.M.A.Halim Buddhism and Human Rights in the Thai Sex Trade; L.J.Peach PART VII: FASHIONING REMEDIES IN NATIONAL CONTEXT Women Educating Women in the Afghan Diaspora; S.Yacoobi Challenging Christian Fundamentalism; C. Richards Gender-based Asylum in the U.S.; P.A.Nejelski Tales of Subversion; A.Nafisi PART VIII: RELIGIOUS CHALLENGES TO RELIGIOUS FUNDAMENTALISM A Feminist Perspective on Jewish Fundamentalism; P.Hyman Feminist Interpretations of Thai Buddhism; S.Satha-Anand Religion and Women's Rights; M.J.F.R.Nunes Reclaiming the Religious Center from a Muslim Perspective; G.Anwar