Religion has an important function in the public and political life of many societies that also affects the relations between men and women as well as the right to gender equality. Still, how do religion and politics mingle precisely and what are the concrete social and political consequences of this mixture from a gender perspective? To address these questions, the Gunda Werner Institute conducted an extensive research project in collaboration with the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) which focused on 11 countries: Chile, India, Iran, Israel, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Poland, Serbia, Turkey, USA.
Contrary to modernist predictions that religion would retreat into a private zone of worship and practice, recent decades have seen religion become increasingly salient on the political stage worldwide. Does this matter? From the point of view of women’s rights and gender equality, much is at stake. UNRISD research shows that politicized religion impinges on women’s rights in problematic ways. The challenge to gender equality comes not just from fundamentalist agendas, but also from those who instrumentalize women’s rights for political ends.
- Download UNRISD Research and Policy Brief 11: Religion, Politics and Gender Equality (PDF; 564KB)
- Find out about the research project on the Gunda Werner Institute website
UNRISD research on Religion, Politics and Gender Equality was funded by the Heinrich Böll Foundation. Additional support was provided by the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).