Conservative Attitudes Can Lead to Prejudice Against Women, Archbishop of Canterbury Says
The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby described religious conservative attitudes that are handed down by cultural traditions that are being used as "a passport to misogyny." The head of the Church of England made the comment a couple of days after a meeting on religious persecution towards women.
Asked if there is an element of misogyny and a segregation of men and women in places of worship as observed by culturally conservative Islam, among other religions, the Archbishop replied: "Is it simply a holdover from a cultural past or is it something that says we can treat women as less valuable than men?"
An international consultation was held last week in Leuven, Belgium to find solutions to the growing problem of violent persecution against women. Speakers revealed the plight of women who live in highly patriarchal societies where they experience less religious freedom.
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While men also undergo religious oppression, women are more vulnerable as they are subjected to discrimination and rejection due to social, legal and cultural norms, inside and outside the Church. Women who are raped are ostracized by the community because of honor and shame in their culture.
Such horrible condition happens in Pakistan where abuse has been accepted as part of their culture. The situation is so bad that 68 percent of Pakistani women and girls experience sexual harassment but refuse to talk as doing so would put their families' honor at stake.
Dr. Susan Kerr, European Union advocacy officer for Christian Solidarity Worldwide presented that women make more than half of the Church, but their voices aren't heard enough. Of the 215 million Christians undergoing oppression, women experience double the discrimination and violence.
Organized by Open Doors Int'l and Release Int'l, Marcham Conference on Women and Persecution was participated by 50 non-government organization representatives, academics, legal experts, trauma counselors and community development experts from 23 nations.
