However, a critical factor overlooked in this conversation is religious freedom. Unless there is religious freedom, minority groups, including women, will not be at the table and their vital, productive and creative voices will not be heard.
Corporations and economies will suffer if they miss out on the contribution of women. The denial of religious freedom contributes to gender inequality throughout the world. Extremist ideologies such as ISIS represent the complete loss of religious freedom, and when respect for a diversity of religious beliefs and practices disappears, gender equality suffers.
Religious minorities are especially vulnerable when the right to freedom of religion or belief, as recognized by the UN Declaration of Human Rights , is not protected. ISIS justifies its rampant disregard for life by citing ideological superiority. According to a recent study by researchers from Georgetown University and Brigham Young University , any solutions will need to address issues such as religious freedom, because religious freedom is not only tied to gender equality but also to more stable economies.
The case of Amira Osman Hamed from Sudan is an example of government restrictions impeding growth. She was expected to stand trial for refusing to wear a hijab, a scarf worn by many Muslim women to cover their hair. Sudan is one of an increasing number of countries where the government regulates the wearing of religious symbols or attire, such as head coverings for women or facial hair for men.
There is something unattractive about a university allowing public meetings at which attendees are segregated by sex. But hang on a moment: is this not the normal arrangement in Orthodox Jewish services? And does Abbott not belong to the Catholic Church, which debars women from high clerical office? Why was he not indignant that the recent election of the pope was by an electorate composed entirely of men?
Most organised religions privilege men over women, and almost all of them privilege heterosexual relations over homosexual ones. Even our atheist prime minister seems quite unconcerned that we fund a large scale school chaplain program which is run by Christian groups which are often sexist and certainly homophobic.
It is true that it is far easier today to criticise the excesses of Islam than those of Christianity, but what critics like Abbott carefully evade is the ways in which religious fundamentalists of all kinds share common attitudes towards sex and gender.
Currently in Sri Lanka there is a vicious campaign being waged against Muslims by devout Buddhists, who have successfully sold many westerners the idea that theirs is a religion of peace and love, despite the recent history of Buddhists in Sri Lanka and Cambodia. The Elders are fully committed to the realisation of equality and empowerment of all women and girls. Video messages from the Elders, available on their new website, discuss the effect of discrimination on women and girls - with special emphasis on the role of traditional and religious practices.
Jimmy Carter, former US President, describes religious practice as one of the "basic causes of the violation of women's rights.
This example set by religious leaders gives an excuse to other dominant males to persecute or abuse or deprive women of their justifiable rights.
Fernando Henrique Cardoso, the former Brazilian President says - "the idea that God is behind discrimination is unacceptable. Mary Robinson, former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and former President of Ireland, articulates the effect that religion and tradition can have on women's lives: "They are submissive This goes on to more difficult issues like female genital mutilation… traditional leaders reinforce this harmful traditional practice by saying this is our culture.
Similar efforts to spearhead women's rights in Mauritania failed in for similar reasons. Currently, the country does not have adequate laws on rape and other forms of sexual violence, according to Human Rights Watch. Saad Eddin al-Hilali, professor of comparative law at Cairo's al-Azhar University, considered the seat of Sunni thought, said those who tend to voice opposition against women's rights in the name of Islam make up a "religious lobby.
Al-Hilali said that the lobby often comprises "senior religious scholars who appear in the media to influence public opinion … regardless of whether an opinion is religiously permissible or forbidden. In Islam, each legal school has prescribed ways to establish a sound opinion on a matter.
However, al-Hilali believes that few are adhering to the criteria, and instead are opting to express their personal views on the matter. Read more : Opinion: Women's power on the rise despite global setbacks. Marwa Sharafeldin, Egyptian activist and Oxford University doctorate, agreed, saying the use of religion as a means to prevent legal protections for women is clearly unacceptable, even in Islam.
Sharafeldin said such reasoning could be used to justify violence against women within Islam, a notion she outright rejects as fundamentally against the religion's values. As a result, the distinction between jurisprudence and religion is often deliberately blurred by proponents of hard-line interpretations.
Last week, Musawah, a movement centered on equality in the Muslim family, launched a campaign to "build support at the national, regional and global levels for the urgency of reform towards equality and justice for women living in Muslim contexts. The movement has identified at least 45 countries that have Muslim family laws that discriminate against women and girls.
Even in Egypt, long considered a bastion of moderate religious practice, women's legal rights have come under threat from conservative lawmakers, who have held up much-needed revisions to the country's family law. Opponents say the latest proposals would weaken men's status by strengthening women's legal claims.
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