Category Archives: Feminism and Religion

Nothing Quite Like the Force that is a Stereotype

This postcard was on every seat when a colleague arrived at her local synagogue for Rosh Hashanah services.  (I have redacted the name of the congregation.)  My colleague was irate, and asked others sitting around her whether they, too, found … Continue reading

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Request for Law Prof Pledges of Support for Park51 Project (aka “Ground Zero” “Mosque”)

From law professors Susan P. Koniak (Boston University), George M. Cohen (Virginia) and David A. Dana (Northwestern): This is not a request to sign a joint letter. We thought, as a community, we could raise our voices instead by pledging financial support … Continue reading

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Mayor Bloomberg on Tolerance

The proposed construction of a Muslim community center and mosque in Lower Manhattan has received national media attention.  Earlier this week, Mayor Michael Bloomberg made a tremendous plea for tolerance.  It is one of the best political speeches I have … Continue reading

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Posted in Feminism and Religion | 1 Comment

Where Are The Women? The Catholic University of America and its Law School’s Center for Law, Philosophy and Culture is hosting a womenless symposium on”The Nature of Judicial Duty: A Reflection on Philip Hamburger’s Law and Judicial Duty”on April 8-9, 2010.

The Symposium’s home page is here. The listed speakers include: Philip Hamburger (keynote), Richard A. Epstein, Emilio M. Garza, R.H. Helmholz, H. Jefferson Powell, Lloyd L. Weinreb and Michael P. Zuckert. –Ann Bartow

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Posted in Courts and the Judiciary, Feminism and Religion, The Overrepresentation of Men, The Underrepresentation of Women, Where are the Women? | Comments Off on Where Are The Women? The Catholic University of America and its Law School’s Center for Law, Philosophy and Culture is hosting a womenless symposium on”The Nature of Judicial Duty: A Reflection on Philip Hamburger’s Law and Judicial Duty”on April 8-9, 2010.

Why a Women’s Seder?

Why a women’s seder?  Here’s how Rabbi Susan Fendrick explains (here): To read the biblical story of the Exodus with open eyes is to understand Passover as, among other things, a celebration of women’s heroism. But in the traditional haggadah, … Continue reading

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Posted in Feminism and Religion | 1 Comment

New Law Blog on Religion and the First Amendment!

Leslie Griffiths (Houston) just started a blog on religion and the first amendment. Check it out here:   http://www.religionrogue.blogspot.com/

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Mr. Deity and the Help-Meet, Or, Explaining the Politics of Housework In Three and a Half Minutes

I’ve discovered “Mr Deity and the Help Meet,”  in which Lucy (aka Lucifer) takes Mr. Deity to task 3 days before the Creation for changing male and female roles (and the balance of power).  Giving birth? Breast feeding? The women … Continue reading

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Fuchs on Sephardic Attitudes to Women’s Torah Studies

Ilan Fuchs (Schusterman Visiting Israeli Professor, Tulane; Bar Ilan University) has posted to SSRN his paper,  “‘Sephardic’ Halakhah? The Attitude of Sephardic Decisors to Women’s Torah Study: A Test Case”.   Here is the abstract: This paper examines Sephardic rabbinic … Continue reading

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Caroline Mala Corbin, “Ceremonial Deism and the Reasonable Religious Outsider”

Abstract: State invocations of God are common in the United States; indeed, the national motto is”In God We Trust.”Yet the Establishment Clause forbids the state from favoring some religions over others. Nonetheless, courts have found the national motto and other … Continue reading

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Posted in Academia, Feminism and Religion, Feminist Legal Scholarship | 1 Comment

“Religion and Women”

In this column Nicholas Kristof briefly discusses intersections of gender and religion. It made me think back to this Pandagon post and the associated comments thread. Generalizing about “religion” is deeply problematic. –Ann Bartow

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Death of Theologian Mary Daly

From the National Catholic Reporter: Mary Daly, radical feminist theologian and a mother of modern feminist theology, died Jan. 3 at the age of 81. She was one of the most influential voices of the radical feminist movement through the … Continue reading

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Posted in Feminism and Religion | 2 Comments

CFP: “What Pertains to a Man”? Transcending Gender Boundaries in Jewish and Israeli Law

Call for Papers “What Pertains To a Man”? Transcending Gender Boundaries in Jewish and Israeli Law Conference to be held at the University of Chicago Law School Monday March 1, 2010 This small one day conference will be structured around … Continue reading

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Women in the Hanukkah Story: Not Just Judith Anymore

In this month’s Hadassah magazine, a story about a Modi’in,   Israel educator who has added a female role to his dramatic interpretation of the Hanukkah tale of Judah the Maccabee who led the Hasmonean people in defying Syrian Greek … Continue reading

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Chris Matthews Takes on Abortion and the Catholic Church

Chris Matthews does a great job skewering the Rhode Island bishop who denied Patrick Kennedy communion. With apologies for linking to the videos as posted by Americans United for Life (it was the only version I could figure out to … Continue reading

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Posted in Bloggenpheffer, Feminism and Religion | 3 Comments

Could the next Dalai Llama be female?

Bridget Crawford recently noted that the current Dalai Lama considers himself a feminist. Last March, there was this report: After struggling for almost five decades, speculation is growing on who will lead and guide the Tibetans after the 14th Dalai … Continue reading

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Posted in Feminism and Politics, Feminism and Religion | 2 Comments

The Dalai Lama, a Feminist

The Dalai Lama was in Memphis, Tennessee today to receive the National Civil Rights Museum’s “International Freedom Award,” given to “an individual whose work has had global impact or has impacted the state of human and civil rights abroad.”  Today’s … Continue reading

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Posted in Feminism and Religion, Sisters In Other Nations | 7 Comments

What Not to Wear, Religious Edition, Take 2: Supreme Court of Michigan Finalizes Attire Rule of Evidence, With Lawsuit to Follow

Back in June, I posted  an entry about the Supreme Court of Michigan’s adoption of an amendment to Michigan Rule of Evidence 611  which provides as follows: (b) Appearance of Parties and Witnesses. The court shall exercise reasonable control over … Continue reading

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New York Times Magazine Publishes Special Issue on Global Women’s Rights

This Sunday’s New York Times Magazine is a special issue on international women’s rights, Why Women’s Rights Are the Cause of Our Time. The cover story, The Women’s Crusade, is adapted from a book by Times op-ed columnist Nicholas Kristof … Continue reading

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What Not To Wear, Religious Edition: Supreme Court of Michigan Adopts Rule Allowing Judges to Exercise “Reasonable Control Over the Appearance of Parties and Witnesses” Based Upon Niqab Case

Yesterday, by a 5-2 vote, the Supreme Court of Michigan  adopted an amendment to Michigan Rule of Evidence 611. This amendment created Michigan Rule of Evidence 611(b), which provides as follows: (b) Appearance of Parties and Witnesses. The court shall … Continue reading

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Posted in Courts and the Judiciary, Feminism and Religion | 7 Comments

For a less artery clogging Communion?

Via.

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For the Feminist Seder

The kos miriam or “Miriam’s Cup” is a cup placed on the seder table next to Elijah’s.  The cup — filled with water — honors the story of Miriam’s well, given to the Jewish people during 40 years of wandering … Continue reading

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Anyone for tennis, wouldn’t that be nice?: The contract law implications of the UAE’s decision to deny a visa to an Israeli tennis player

Whether you are a fan of tennis (like me) or not, you might have been following the recent mess in the United Arab Emirates.   Basically, at the last second, Israeli tennis player Shahar Peer  was denied a visa to … Continue reading

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“Despite Odds, Women’s Movement Persists In Iran”

NPR story you can read and/or listen to here.

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43 Alaskan Native Americans File Suit Against Jesuits for Rape, Sexual Assault

Heart has the story here.

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Posted in Acts of Violence, Coerced Sex, Feminism and Law, Feminism and Religion, Race and Racism | 1 Comment

Yasmeen Hassan, “A War on Pakistan’s Schoolgirls”

From the WaPo: I have such fond childhood memories of summer holidays in the Swat Valley in Pakistan’s North-West Frontier Province, a place well known among Pakistanis for its breathtaking views, cool summer climate and lush fruit orchards. But today … Continue reading

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Evangelical Anti-Feminism

Alternet account of “The Patriarchy Movement” here.

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Warning to Rebellious Women

Taken at Obama’s inauguration yesterday by Gerry Canavan. Via.

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FUNDAMENTALIST PRESSURE IN NORTH WEST FRONTIER PROVINCE OF PAKISTAN, HAS LED TO ALARMING VIOLENCE AND DISCRIMINATION AGAINST GIRLS AND WOMEN

From Equality Now: In late December 2008 the Taliban ordered a ban on girls’ education in the district of Swat in the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan.   The announcement made by an extremist cleric, Maulana Fazlullah through an … Continue reading

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Seven States Sue To Block ‘Conscience Rule’

Illinois, California, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Oregon joined Connecticut’s lawsuit: … to block an impending federal rule that critics say will allow health care providers to deny care, including emergency contraception to rape victims, with no recourse for … Continue reading

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What Happened to the Woman in “Iran’s Hottest Porn Video”?

The Daily Beast has a post up entitled “Iran’s Hottest Porn Video.” It is written by a male university student who is “pseudonymous for his own safety.” In it he crows about how great it is that the hypocrisy of … Continue reading

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Women and Girls As Property

The source is the Daily Mail, a newspaper of somewhat dubious reliability, and I can’t find similar accounts anywhere else, but fwiw (ETA: Guardian article here): Saudi court tells girl aged EIGHT she cannot divorce husband who is 50 years … Continue reading

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“Afropublicrats and a More Perfect Love (Or, Living Wrong and Voting Right)”

Read the new post by this title by Lolita Buckner Inniss here.

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“Islamic law has been officially adopted in Britain, with sharia courts given powers to rule on Muslim civil cases.”

That’s the first sentence of this article from the online version of the London Times. It reports in part: The government has quietly sanctioned the powers for sharia judges to rule on cases ranging from divorce and financial disputes to … Continue reading

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“Customers ordered the pills, but were unable to cancel or get a refund. A former VP of the company testified that Warshak required customers to provide notarized documents from a doctor proving that they had small genitals in order to get a refund.”

Learn more about the Enzyte scam here. Wonder if the penalty would have been as severe if women had been the victims.

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Russell Powell, “Catharine MacKinnon May Not Be Enough: Legal Change and Religion in Catholic and Sunni Jurisprudence”

The abstract: This article asserts that legal change in systems influenced by religion requires a legitimizing hermeneutic rooted in sacred texts and tradition. I argue that a number scholars of legal history (Michael Klarman), feminist jurisprudence Catharine MacKinnon, Katherine Bartlett … Continue reading

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Iranian Woman Faces Imminent Execution by Stoning

Equality Now has just issued Women’s Action Update 29.2, calling for the immediate release of Kobra Najjar, who is at risk of imminent execution by stoning for prostitution.   We have just heard from her lawyer that all legal appeals … Continue reading

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Women who participate in ordination ceremonies automatically excommunicate themselves from the Catholic Church

So reports this Boston.com article, which also notes: A group advocating for the ordination of women held a ceremony yesterday in a packed Protestant church at which it declared three women to be Catholic priests and a fourth woman to … Continue reading

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Church of England Endorses Women as Bishops

Via the New York Times: The governing body of the Anglican Church in Britain voted on Monday to approve the appointment of women as bishops, a step that appeared to risk a schism in the church in its historic homeland … Continue reading

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“Islam vs. Christianity, Re: Feminism”

That’s the title of this interesting post at Screaming Into The Void. Amananta writes in part: Given there are only 300 million people living in America, and approximately 1 billion estimated in”the Muslim World”, given that most women killed by … Continue reading

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Watch Martha Nussbaum Talk With Bill Moyers About her newest book, LIBERTY OF CONSCIENCE: IN DEFENSE OF AMERICA’S TRADITION OF RELIGIOUS EQUALITY.

Here. The transcript of the interview is here. Previous post about the book here. I got to take Martha Nussbaum on a tour of the Congaree Swamp when she gave a series of talks here a couple of years ago … Continue reading

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“Women in Law and Religion” International Summmer School at the U of Siena

My name is Pasquale Annicchino and I’m a junior fellow at the Law and Religion programme at the University of Siena in Italy. I wanted to signal for the Feministlawprofs blog our International Summmer School. With the present I would … Continue reading

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World Marriage Day?

Ever heard of “World Marriage Day?” I hadn’t either, but this excerpt from its sponsor’s website told me more than I wanted to know: The idea of celebrating marriage began in Baton Rouge, La., in 1981, when couples encouraged the … Continue reading

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The United Nations has launched a $44 million program to reduce female genital mutilation by 40 percent by 2015.

More information here and here.

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Afghanistan

The Independent, UK has launched a campaign to secure the freedom of Sayed Pervez Kambaksh. On Tuesday, a provincial court in Afghanistan sentenced the 23 year old journalism student to death for downloading a report that is said to defend … Continue reading

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“Headscarves”

From The Monkey Cage: In this study, subjects were randomly assigned to view a picture of a woman or a picture of this same woman wearing a headscarf in the style of some Islamic women. Here are the two pictures: … Continue reading

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South Carolina Board of Education Decides Against Banning Biology Text That Teaches Evolution

Thank goodness. The vote was scary close: The South Carolina Education Board approved a biology textbook Wednesday for public schools, despite questions from critics worried about how the book teaches evolution. The board voted 9-7 to approve the textbook’s latest … Continue reading

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“Islam and the Left. Dialogue or cold war?”

Though the focus is much broader than simply gender issues, this exchange at Reset DOC will be interesting to many feminists.

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