Tap here to turn on desktop notifications to get the news sent straight to you. “Faith actors, feminists and social justice movements are forging new partnerships at all levels. Knowledge sharing and advocacy are key pillars of the Platform, and the initiative will showcase best practices, data collection, tools and resources between faith and development communities, building an exchange of ideas and discussions leading to a digital library for resources, and publications. 1895-1898]). This newly launched Platform synchronizes with UN Women’s faith-based work. The strategy aims to provide a deeper understanding of faith-based actors and expand the engagement of faith organizations and institutions at all levels of UN Women’s work--normative, programmatic and advocacy--with the goal of achieving gender equality and empowerment. These are generally societies in which women have taken strides toward equality in most other professions. Date: Monday, March 20, 2017 Building on the growing recognition that the role of faith-based organizations in addressing the needs of women and girls is critical, a global Platform on “Gender Equality and Religion” was launched on 15 March at the on-going UN Commission on the Status of Women.. Closely in line with other advocacy efforts such as UN Women’s Planet 50-50, HeforShe, and the UNITE Campaign, this faith-based Platform endeavours to work with global citizens, in partnership with civil society organizations, public and private sectors, traditional and social media, to engage on gender equality and influence the discourse on women’s rights. Places where there is highly unequal distribution of income (Gini coefficient) are significantly more religious (2). Religion, which serves as a reference point for gender norms and expectations, is often seen as institutionalizing and perpetuating patriarchy, thus frustrating many advocates for women’s rights and equality. At the launch, a broad range of stakeholders were invited to become part of the Platform, including Member States, religious leaders, faith-based and civil society organizations and women groups, as well as representatives from inter-governmental bodies like Organization of Islamic Council and the UN system. Speech: “The agenda of creating a planet 50-50 cannot come true if religion, religious leaders and faith actors remain outside the conversation”—Lakshmi Puri, Opportunities for NGOs to address the Commission, UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women, Deputy Executive Director for Normative Support, UN System Coordination and Programme Results, Deputy Executive Director for Resource Management, Sustainability and Partnerships, Contract templates and general conditions of contract, Macroeconomic policies and social protection, Sustainable Development and Climate Change, Passing and implementing effective laws and policies, Focusing on prevention to stop the violence, Spokesperson on Addressing Sexual Harassment, Women, peace, and security in the work of the UN Security Council, Preventing violent extremism and countering terrorism, Economic empowerment and skills development for young women, Action on ending violence against young women and girls, Engaging boys and young men in gender equality, Flagship programme: Making Every Woman and Girl Count, UN Women Global Innovation Coalition for Change, High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, Gender Focal Points and Focal Points for Women, Training for gender equality and women's empowerment, Gender equality matters in COVID-19 response, Generation Equality Action Pack, March 2020, International Day of Women and Girls in Science, Generation Equality action pack, January 2020, Generation Equality action pack, December 2019, Generation Equality action pack, November 2019: Generation Equality Stands against Rape, Generation Equality action pack, October 2019, International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, In Focus: Climate action by, and for, women, Financing: Why it matters for women and girls, World survey on the role of women in development, Apolitical's 100 Most Influential People in Gender Policy 2019 features UN Women experts, UN Women Deputy Executive Director joins the call to end sexual and gender-based violence in humanitarian crises at the Oslo Conference, UN Women Deputy Executive Director Åsa Regnér visits Kazakhstan, From where I stand: “I believe times have changed and my community needs adapt to this change”, Take five: We need “initiatives to raise the status of women, led by Muslim leaders”. We made it easy for you to exercise your right to vote. So the aversion of religious leaders to gender equality may be a specific case of their more general endorsement of social inequality. With the establishment of more equal social democracies, religion declines as illustrated by the decline of the majority Christianity in Europe. Popularly floated explanations for clerical opposition to female equality with males are unsatisfying. In countries of the Middle East, female imams are generally not allowed to lead congregations containing men. One way of thinking about this puzzle is to see gender inequality within the broader framework of social inequality. In some societies, women take a leading role in specific religious rituals. This Platform is an effort to overcome the barriers and misunderstandings between faith and secular actors to tap into the rich possibilities for collaboration within, inter, across and outside of faith,” she reiterated at the launch event. Yet, male priests still tell most of the world's women what to think and their message is often anti-feminist. Recently, the Catholic hierarchy moved to bring the Leadership Conference of Women Religious into line with orthodox Church teachings . This is a problem because it does not explain why the conserved tradition is biased against women to begin with instead of being biased against men. Most reduce to a single word: conservatism; tradition; family; patriarchy, and so forth. Religions that have been around for a long time tend to accept, or support, the status quo in practice. So the aversion of religious leaders to gender equality may be a specific case of their more general endorsement of social inequality. Sign up for membership to become a founding member and help shape HuffPost's next chapter. Here’s how. The relationship between religion and gender equality is a complex one. Today is National Voter Registration Day! To be more specific, conservative churches endorse male supremacy in the household for much the same reason that they endorse the power of kings, dictators, oligarchs, and elites. It will convene faith-based organizations and civil society groups, bringing together religious leaders and development experts to find ways to effectively pursue the gender-responsive implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and achieve gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls. In many world religions, women are making inroads in religious professions but the trend is resisted by the Catholic Church that allows women to serve as nuns but bans ordination. Building on the growing recognition that the role of faith-based organizations in addressing the needs of women and girls is critical, a global Platform on “Gender Equality and Religion” was launched on 15 March at the on-going UN Commission on the Status of Women. All rights reserved. The spectacle of an all-male task force being brought in to tell women what they must think may seem badly dated. The Permanent Mission of Canada hosted the event, with UN Women, UNFPA, DFID and International Partnership for Religion and Sustainable Development, collaborating on this new initiative.