Article by Cochav Elkayam-Levy
The right to freedom of religion and belief is a fundamental right of every woman. It articulates women's freedom to follow their aims and beliefs and protects their personal autonomy to pursue their chosen faith (be it theistic, non-theistic or atheistic). Yet, this article reveals that women’s belief liberties are a blind spot in international law. The right to freedom of religion or belief has thus far been widely viewed by the international community as an obstacle to women's advancement;
Among many aspects of this problem, one of the major gaps that the article addresses is that the right of women to freedom of religion or belief has not been specified within the International Women’s Convention—i.e. the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). The article considers the implications of this omission and shows that States receive little guidance on how to secure this right in ways that align with their obligation to promote gender equality. Significantly, it calls attention to the worrying fact that, presently, no state is being systematically supervised for implementing this fundamental right of women. The article then turns to name this problem and identifies a conflict syndrome by which women are predominantly viewed as a vulnerable group affected by the abuse of religious rights.
Examining possibilities for change, the article offers a paradigmatic shift in the conceptualization of the right to freedom of religion or belief, emphasizing the need to use it to secure the promise that women would be able to freely pursue their chosen beliefs and showing that fulfilling that promise is crucial to achieving gender equality. Lastly, it emphasizes the importance of new global mechanisms protecting women’s belief liberties, including a much-needed general recommendation on the subject by CEDAW Committee that would guarantee that women would be able to freely express their diverse opinions, moral convictions and experiences without social or other constraints.
About the Authors
Cochav Elkayam-Levy, Visiting Professor, Faculty of Law, Bar-Ilan University, Israel; S.J.D, LL.M, University of Pennsylvania Law School, joined as Penn Human Rights Scholar; Post-Doctoral Fellow, Ruth and Emanuel Rackman Center for the Advancement of Women's Status; Perry World House Fellow (2015-16)
Citation
95 Tul. L. Rev. 1233 (2021)