Martina Bär is professor of fundamental theology at the University of Graz (Austria).
Pope Francis, who passed away on 21 April 2025, made notable strides in addressing women and discrimination within the Catholic Church, though his efforts were often characterized by a balance between progressive appointments and adherence to traditional doctrine.
Kyriaki Topidi is head of Cluster on Culture and Diversity/senior researcher at the European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI, Germany).
Background: Application of Sharia in Greece
The intensified presence of Muslim groups in Western Europe resulting from recent migration has largely overshadowed reflection, in both political and research terms, on legal pluralist scenarios involving historical Muslim minorities in European countries. In Western Thrace, at the northeastern tip of Greece bordering Turkey, Muslim groups have enjoyed special legal status connected to the legacies of the Ottoman Empire, captured in the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne.[1] State-endorsed Muslim autonomy in Greece has entailed, in particular, government-appointed muftis with (until 2018 legislative amendments) compulsory jurisdiction in certain family matters.
Francisca Pérez-Madrid is Professor of Law and Religion at the University of Barcelona.[1]
On 4 October 2024, in the case of AH (C-608/22) & FN (C-609/22) v. Bundesamt für Fremdenwesen und Asyl, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) confirmed that gender and nationality may constitute sufficient criteria for an EU member state to grant asylum to a particular group of women. The applicants, Afghan nationals “AH” and “FN,” sought refugee status in Austria, citing the persecution of women under Afghanistan’s Taliban regime. Austria denied them refugee status, granting subsidiary protection[2] instead, based on anticipated economic and social hardship if they were to return to Afghanistan. Austrian authorities expressed doubts regarding AH’s credibility and concluded that FN did not face a genuine risk of persecution.