{"id":1319,"date":"2015-03-30T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-03-30T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/news\/speakers-focus-on-how-religion-can-advance-gender-equality\/"},"modified":"2017-10-14T04:53:10","modified_gmt":"2017-10-14T04:53:10","slug":"speakers-focus-on-how-religion-can-advance-gender-equality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/speakers-focus-on-how-religion-can-advance-gender-equality\/","title":{"rendered":"Speakers focus on how religion can advance gender equality"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Speakers
Panel speakers and guests at International Women’s Day service<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Speakers from various religious backgrounds focused on the role of religion in advancing gender equality when they addressed a reception following a service at the Baha\u2019i Temple in Sydney on 29 March to mark International Women\u2019s Day.
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

Introducing the speakers, MC Safa Rahbar said there was increasing attention to the role of religion and the need for the empowerment of women to contribute to a more harmonious society.<\/p>\n

The president of the International Council of Jewish Women, Robyn Lenn, raised the question of whether all religions treated women as equals and supported their members in a bid for a better, more balanced life.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn faiths there is belief in equality, but still a gap in male and female roles, especially in religious leadership,\u201d Ms Lenn said.<\/p>\n

There had been progress in the progressive Jewish community but orthodox women still struggled against ancient divorce laws which disadvantaged women, and her organisation has spent decades advocating reinterpretation of rabbinic law in this area, she said.<\/p>\n

CEO of the Immigrant Women’s Health Service, Dr Eman Sharobeem, said women were suppressed more because of culture than religion.<\/p>\n

A member of the Coptic community, Dr Sharobeem said women in her community were still called the wife of somebody or the daughter of somebody. \u201cWe do not have a title on our own,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to keep talking about it and not allow our issues to be forgotten,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

A Dominican sister, lecturer and author Trish Madigan, said women need to challenge the political and economic structures of society as well as the religious structures.<\/p>\n

Dr Madigan said that early Christianity had an egalitarian ethos but it is the politics and economics of our world that perpetuate patriarchal structures.<\/p>\n

\u201cWomen meeting each other and supporting each other in interfaith environments has played an important role in making our community more inclusive and accepting,\u201d Dr Madigan said.<\/p>\n

The executive officer of the United Muslim Women Association, Maha Abdo, said she had been working against domestic violence for a long time, and without having the support of the men in her life she could not carry out this service.<\/p>\n

\u201cMen and women complement each other in our tradition\u2014not despise each other,\u201d she said, quoting the Holy Qu\u2019ran on the topic.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is about balancing, not wiping out one group or another,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

A Baha\u2019i speaker, Saphira Rameshfar, said the equality of men and women is a facet of human reality.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat which makes us human is neither male nor female,\u201d Ms Rameshfar said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe cannot ignore the force of religion in people’s lives but we need to be able to leave behind labels that lock us in debates, she said. \u201cI propose we conceptualise religion as an ongoing process through which humanity becomes conscious of the spiritual dimension of human life and learns to orient its individual and collective life accordingly.\u201d<\/p>\n

The speakers then answered a range of questions from the MC and audience members.<\/p>\n

One question concerned what has been successfully tried by religions as a source of empowerment for women.<\/p>\n

Ms Abdo said that Muslim women were attending classes where they studied verses of the Qu\u2019ran in their original meaning so as to bring about empowerment through faith.<\/p>\n

Ms Rameshfar said the junior youth spiritual empowerment program encouraged young people to question media and society and to change their interactions in a positive way, beyond current stereotypes.<\/p>\n

Dr Madigan said the use of inclusive language \u2013 for example using the feminine pronoun for the divine and referring to female attributes of God\u2014is a powerful tool as a reminder that the community is made up of both men and women.<\/p>\n

Dr Sharobeem said in her work they have found it fruitful to engage in dialogue with the youth on the issue of gender equality, and to train them to talk to their peers on the subject.<\/p>\n

Ms Lenn said women meeting and speaking with other women in the interfaith movement was very important, as was interfaith interaction at school level.<\/p>\n

The speakers also discussed the role that male and female religious leaders can play in advancing gender equality. Proposals included creating spaces where equality can be discussed, taking a firm position on domestic violence, and seeking out women to appoint to senior positions.<\/p>\n

At the reception, the singer Dahlia Dior performed to an appreciative audience.<\/p>\n

The service in the Temple included the reading of passages from the scriptures of the world religions and also music from the choir.<\/p>\n

International Women\u2019s Day is observed internationally on March 8 but the event at the Baha\u2019i Temple was postponed so that it would fall after the Baha\u2019i fast and the celebration of the Baha\u2019i New Year holy day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Speakers from various religious backgrounds focused on the role of religion in advancing gender equality when they addressed a reception following a service at the Baha\u2019i Temple in Sydney on 29 March to mark International Women\u2019s Day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1319","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-media-releases","category-uncategorised"],"yoast_head":"\nSpeakers focus on how religion can advance gender equality - Australian Baha'i Community<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/speakers-focus-on-how-religion-can-advance-gender-equality\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Speakers focus on how religion can advance gender equality - 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