Speech presented
by Ruth Taillon, a 2002 WGLI Participant representing the Women's
Support Network (Ireland), to the Women's Global Leadership Institute
Reception in New York, July 20, 2002.
Ruth's
observations stem from discussions held by the Dialogue Circle on
Religion, Culture and Fundamentalisms.
Those
of us who came together during the WGLI to discuss issues about
religion, culture, and fundamentalisms were challenged, first of
all, to address definitions and the use of words to describe things
that take on different manifestations in different contexts. We
struggled most with the use of the concept of ‘fundamentalisms’
— a term which was first applied to a variety of Christian
sects, but which has recently been used by the media and ‘Western’
politicians almost exclusively to describe Muslim or Islamist groups.
We all felt that the terminology was inadequate to express the actuality
of the differing ways that extremist and politically conservative
currents take on a religious and/or traditionalist character.
So
that is perhaps the first point that needs to be made: fundamentalisms
are essentially reactionary political and social forces that use
the imposition of extreme interpretations of religious beliefs and
so-called traditional cultural practices to exercise social control.
In each and every example that we were able to identify, the essentially
patriarchal nature of fundamentalist movements is demonstrated by
the fact that women’s interests are the first to be attacked.
When we came to reflect on the impact of contemporary fundamentalisms
on women’s human rights, we were very conscious that women
around the world have been struggling against fundamentalism in
many different guises for many years. So long, however, as women
were the primary victims of fundamentalist repressions, there was
little concern shown about denials of human rights. Today, the media
spotlight is on ‘fundamentalism’ and concern is belatedly
being expressed about the human rights of Afghani women. Still,
the condemnation of fundamentalist human rights abuses is shockingly,
though unsurprisingly selective. The recent genocidal massacre
in Gujarat is one significant example of this selectivity. The recent
events in Gujarat — including mass killings, gang rapes, looting
and destruction — are the latest eruption of anti-Muslim genocidal
violence. This has been tolerated by the State’s Hindu fundamentalist
rulers, who have also used attacks on other minorities such as Dalits
and tribal groups to keep the situation unstable as a means of ensuring
their continued political and economic domination. India has an
international reputation as a democratic, secular country. Yet it
continues to tolerate caste-based discrimination — particularly
against the Dalit people — and refuses to intervene effectively
in response to the attacks at Gujarat. For the most part, this has
so far gone unchallenged by international governments and NGOs.
Our
conversations about fundamentalisms and its impact on our work as
human rights activists led us to reflect on how fundamentalism has
shaped the world throughout history. Indeed, the United States itself
was founded by Irish Christian fundamentalists; and you have been
sending them back to us ever since. Today Ireland is one of the
chosen battlegrounds for the intervention of what can only be described
as a most unholy alliance of the Vatican and US Protestant fundamentalist
forces. Their political influence and economic resources are working
together to restrict the access of Irish women and young people
to reproductive and sexual health information and facilities.
The
current war drive by the US Government and its allies, in the name
of eliminating fundamentalist “terrorism”, can only have
the effect of spreading and consolidating the control of fundamentalisms
throughout the world — in the so-called Christian countries
of the West as well as in countries which are predominantly Muslim,
Hindu or other. Women in many countries in all regions of the world
are increasingly feeling the impact of the drive to war. Jewish,
Muslim, Hindu and Christian fundamentalists are all using this opportunity
to limit and more actively regulate areas where women have found
space to speak out and be socially or politically active. They are
increasingly putting pressure on women to conform to more rigid
and restrictive social mores in the name of tradition and religion.
In the first instance, the impact is on women within their own religious
groups and communities; then on wider society as they try to impose
their laws and practices on other groups.
We
are in very dark days and are forced to spend much of our energy
and resources on defending the fragile and precious gains that women
have achieved through many years of struggle. Nevertheless, women
across the globe, and certainly all of us here, continue to work
to develop the human rights agenda and ensure that women’s
rights are not denied by those who seek to exploit and oppress us.
Sisterhood, we hope, is still powerful.
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