Globalization, Gender, and Religion : The Politics of Women's Rights in Catholic and Muslim Contexts

In the early 1970s, accompanying the current wave of globalization, conservative nationalist religious movements began using religion to oppose non-democratic and often Western oriented regimes. Reasserting patriarchal gender relations presumably authorized by religion has been central to these movements. At the Fourth United Nations Congress on Women in Beijing in 1995, Muslim and Catholic delegations from diverse countries united to oppose provisions on sexuality, reproductive rights, women's health, and women's rights as human rights. Scholars from eight different Muslim and Catholic communities analyze the political strategies that women are employing in these contexts ranging from acceptance of traditional doctrines to various forms of resistance, religious reinterpretation, innovation, and political action toward change and equal rights.

Jane Bayes is Professor of Political Science at California State University, Northridge where she teaches in the areas of women and politics and political economy.

Nayereh Tohidi is Assistant Professor of Women's Studies at California State University, Northridge. She teaches in the area of sociology of gender and social change in Muslim societies.