-
Introduction: Theorizing Conflicts between Women’s Rights and Religious Laws
- Brandeis University Press
- Chapter
- Additional Information
lisa FishBayn JoFFe Introduction Theorizing Conflicts between Women’s Rights and Religious Laws Why Are Women’s Equality Claims So Often at the Heart of Multicultural Conflicts? Openthenewspaperorsurfthenetanydayandyouwillfindarangeofstories, both domestic and international, involving conflicts between women’s rights and religious or cultural traditions. Many of these raise challenging questions about the scope of freedom of religion and the role of the state in balancing the rights of individuals, religious authorities, and the broader community. A representative sample might include stories like these: • Women who ride the B110 bus from Williamsburg to Borough Park in Brooklyn are made to sit in a women’s section at the back of the bus to prevent immodest mixing with men.1 The bus operates with a license from the state of New York. Does this policy violate the rights to equality of women who ride the bus? Would putting a stop to it deny the freedom of religion of those who support separate seating? Does allowing this practice to go on mean that the state is supporting the establishment of religion? • The Iranian women’s soccer team is banned from competing in Olympic trials because team members wear headscarves in violation of the sport’s uniform rules.2 Should an exemption be made when participants believe the rule is in conflict with their religious obligations? Should the rule be rethought, with a more diverse group of participants in mind? • An immigrant couple now living in the United States is divorcing. They were married in Pakistan, and the husband has divorced the wife there under Islamic laws that provide her with no right to alimony. The wife sues in a Maryland court for the maintenance and property she would be entitled to under state law. Can the state courts help her or does respect for xiv · FishBayn JoFFe · introduCtion the integrity of other states or of other religions mean they must honor the terms of the Islamic marriage contract?3 • A suburban family in Utah that practices polygamy agrees to be part of a reality show about their lives, in part to show how ordinary they are. Prosecutors in Utah begin an investigation into whether the husband is violating state laws against bigamy.4 The family flees the state but later sues, arguing that the law is being used to persecute polygamists unfairly. Does polygamy harm women by allowing them to be treated as unequals? Does a ban on polygamy violate the freedom of religion of those who freely choose to practice it? • The leader of a fundamentalist Mormon sect is given a life sentence for the statutory rape of young girls he took as his “spiritual brides.” Should polygamous marriages be viewed differently when they involve underage girls in a closed fundamentalist community? Can these girls be said to freely choose polygamy if they are given limited education and are groomed to marry men chosen for them by the “prophet”?5 Should respect for religious difference excuse practices that would otherwise be characterized as heinous crimes? The challenge of accommodating religious and cultural difference pervades many areas of our shared public life. An awareness of the central role that our religious faith and cultural ties play in the formation of personal identity and the pursuit of a satisfying life has prompted a broad range of legal and policy reforms and a continuing stream of new controversies. Our religious identity affects what we wear, how we educate our children, how we marry and divorce, and how we engage with or avoid the world around us. Whether accommodation takes the form of public financial support for faith-based institutions, affirmation of the right to wear religiously required attire in public spaces, or the integration of religious norms into aspects of state law, the impact of these strategies on the rights and roles of women is frequently at issue. Asserting control over family law and the lives of women that are so intimately regulated by it is a frequent feature of demands for religious toleration . Whether by discouraging community members from using civil courts, demanding recognition of religious courts or contracts in liberal states, or seeking to replace secular law with religious law, how we regulate relationships [18.191.254.106] Project MUSE (2024-04-19 13:12 GMT) FishBayn JoFFe · introduCtion · xv in marriage and family says a lot about who we understand ourselves to be. Shifts in the way we regulate the family send a clear message to ourselves and others about this changed identity...