We empower each other to fulfill our individual and collective purpose as the best u201cusu201d that we can be. This builds trust and generates hope for a shared future, writes MP Cheryllyn Dudley.
What a privilege it has been for me to meet once again with IPPFoRB colleagues u2013 this time in New York. I truly value these opportunities to work with amazing people from around the world who are grappling u2013 as representatives of the people they serve u2013 with the complex issue of how we can be catalysts in empowering society to embrace and protect their freedoms in a manner that respects and values othersu2019 freedoms.
As a Member of Parliament for almost 19 years it is especially meaningful working with and forming bonds across continents, countries and cultures with men and women who hold or have held office in Parliament and know what it means to bear the responsibility, the favour, the sacrifices and the attacks that come with serving your constituency and your country.
The meetings held at the United Nations in New York recently to discuss research done on u201cWomen and Religious Freedom: Synergies and Opportunitiesu201d were a courageous and welcome entry into territory which has become a virtual u2018no-go-zoneu2019 till now! Women are not exclusively u2018womenu2019, we cross many boundaries and value the freedom to do so. What we choose to believe and the values we choose to live by are inseparable from who we are, just as being a women is.
FREEDOM u2018OFu2019 RELIGION
The concept of freedom u2018ofu2019 religion has been confused at times with the concept of freedom u2018fromu2019 religion and has been used by secular and liberal, agendas to impose foreign values and lifestyles on people. It is my view that u2013 just as FORB is NOT freedom for one religion or cultural belief in order to impose itself on another religion or cultural belief u2013 and it should also NOT be an excuse for super liberal agendas to be imposed where they are culturally or religiously unacceptable. While feeling strongly about this I must add that both minority and majority rights must be respected and an individualu2019s freedom to choose for themselves, must also be jealously guarded even where a majority choose another way.
This of course, is no easy task, it is an ideal worth striving for and working toward but constantly engaging each other is so important because human beings are inclined to be u2018control freaksu2019 when left to our own devices we so often feel justified in deciding what is right for others. For me IPPFoRB facilitates opportunities for MPu2019s across the world to support each otheru2019s efforts to ensure that where an individualu2019s or communities rights and freedoms do not unreasonably restrict the rights and freedom of others they are upheld and championed.
FORB AND GENDER EQUALITY
The conversations held in the #IPPFoRB2017 NewYork meetings with leaders in global and national governance u2013 and both secular and religious NGOu2019s u2013 gave a broad perspective and platform from which participants could take a closer look at the relationship between FORB and Gender Equality. Very specifically in terms of the tensions and synergies they create and the potential opportunities for both u2013 in developing greater understanding and respect across the perceived divide.
As noted in Professor Nazila Ghaneau2019s study on u2018Women and Religious Freedom: Synergies and Opportunitiesu2019 (University of Oxford), u201cboth sets of human rights provisions (FORB and womenu2019s equality) take insufficient account of the other.u201d
There are a number of reasons for the presumption that FORB and the advancement of womenu2019s rights to equality clash, including the fact that u201cnumerous reservations to human rights concerning women and girls are asserted in the name of religion and religious lawsu201d.
As frustrating as this may be for many u2013 even many who hold religious views but identify with the concept of, and need for greater Gender Equality u2013 the problem is democracy becomes selective when norms and values are imposed on people. The author of u201cGod & Political Justiceu201d, Landa Cope puts it like this u201cyou cannot give people more justice than they will allowu201d u2013 if we are claiming to support democratic principles that is!
BUILD TRUST AND GENERATE HOPE
Many countries and people, who have been persuaded to consider the benefits of democratic principles and the concept of a peaceful global world linked through mutually beneficial trade relations, begin to withdraw and turn toward a fierce nationalism when they feel their identity being threatened u2013 when they feel manipulated and thoughts of new forms of colonization cross their minds.
With a view to transcending the barriers and addressing the divide, the UN Human Rights Committee has been identified as best placed within the UN system u201cto address synergies concerning women, equality and FORBu201d. While general comments address womenu2019s equality they do not speak to womenu2019s rights regarding both equality and freedom of religion or belief, FORB.
Womenu2019s rights activists tend to dismiss views that do not match their own with ridicule and disdain and give the impression that they hold superior views which must be adhered to by those who are inferior. These sorts of superior attitudes on both sides of the divide, we believe can change as we interact meaningfully, embrace our diversity, gain better understanding and learn to respect each otheru2019s right to hold our unique perspectives.
A common ideal of IPPFoRB members I have worked with has not been a need to be like minded on every issue, but the valuing of each other for who we are and the belief that in doing so we empower each other to fulfill our individual and collective purpose as the best u201cusu201d that we can be. This we believe builds trust and generates hope for a shared future.
Cheryllyn Dudley in a member of the Parliament of South Africa (since 1999), and an IPPFoRB-member (since 2014).
*Reflections on IPPFoRB Meetings at the UN, New York in September 2017.