Secular Authoritarianism and Gender Inequalities in Plural Societies

Social scientists from around the world are keenly observing the recent rise of authoritarianism along with orthodox religious fervor in societies having different linguistic, ethnic, racial, religious, and caste communities. The discriminatory gendered nature of social institutions in such plural societies are concerning due to stratifications that disparage human equality. This session will consider social policies and different approaches towards gender equality in the context of emerging authoritarianism. There has been ongoing debate on the ways that religious authoritarianism sanctifies gender inequalities. How do politics and religion mutually use secularism to perpetuate gender inequalities? This session will be multidisciplinary, inviting collective understanding of patterns of gender inequalities, their sources of sanctification and their institutional perpetuation in plural societies in light of authoritarian trends.