Status, Discourse, and Authoritarianism

The deliberations of faith and spiritualism have always been ignored or have rather been dismissed in the development discourse. Despite this inertia, there is no denying the fact that religion is a critical area of human activity and has tremendous effect (positive or negative) on various facets of human life. It becomes all the more significant in the context of women as women’s position in societies across the world is controlled by religious institutions at various levels. The complex interplay between culture, religion and the gender specific roles assigned to women has always been an issue of concern in feminist discourse. The recent instances of threat to women’s agency from resurgent authoritarianism have further complicated this relationship. On one hand, fundamentalism is blamed for controlling social structure in general and women in specific for attaining political power, on the other hand, feminists in southern part of the globe are accused of betraying their societies by threatening social values and ethos by imposing western notion of gender equality. In this complex scenario, there is an urgent need to create a space for serious discussions on the inter-relationship between religion and gender equality. The proposed session endeavors to bring social scientists from across the world to share their experiences and perspectives on the issue concerned.