Freedom of Religion or Belief and Gender Equality across the OSCE Region

In September 2022 The Review of Faith & International Affairs published an issue dedicated to freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) and women’s rights across the OSCE region. The issue was edited by Elizabeth A. Clark and Dmytro Vovk and brought together a broad and rich variety of papers focusing on international law issues; the role religions and religious freedom play in the promotion of gender equality, as well as in religion-related reservations and political opposition to relevant international law; and tensions between religious organizations and human rights defenders working in this sphere.

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Interview: Nazila Ghanea on Religious Freedom and Gender Equality as Non-Clashing Rights

Nazila Ghanea is the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief. She is also Professor of International Human Rights Law and Director of the MSc in International Human Rights Law at the University of Oxford. Ghanea has acted as a human rights consultant/expert for a number of governments, international organisations, and human rights organisations. She has published extensively on religious freedom, minority rights, and international law. Among her publications are Freedom of Religion or Belief: An International Law Commentary (2016); Religion or Belief, Discrimination and Equality: Britain in Global Contexts (2013); Does God Believe in Human Rights? (2007); and Human Rights, the UN and the Bahá’ís in Iran (2003). Ghanea was interviewed by Elizabeth A. Clark and Dmytro Vovk.

Dmytro Vovk: The freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) and gender equality problematic is very politicized, often in different directions. Some countries use FoRB language to criticize human rights and gender equality as concepts; others focus international efforts on gender equality while deemphasizing FoRB; and yet other countries invest significant recourses in the advancement of gender equality or FoRB abroad while achieving less impressive results on the domestic level. How does this politicization affect international human rights law?

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Yeshiva University v. YU Pride Alliance: Comment by Frederick Mark Gedicks

Yeshiva University, one of the oldest Jewish institutions of higher education in the United States, refused to recognize a student “Pride Alliance” club based on its inconsistency with Torah values. A group of students and alumni has sued the university, demanding official recognition of the club. On 14 September 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to protect the university from a New York trial court order requiring it to recognize the LGBTQ+ club.

BYU Law Professor Frederick Mark Gedicks comments on the main issue of the case, elaborates on the strongest arguments in favor of Yeshiva’s and the club’s positions, and tries to predict how the U.S. Supreme Court would decide this case on merits.

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