Basic Rights in Collision: On the Boundary Between Religious Freedom and Gender Equality
Abstract
Traditionally, human freedom and equality have encompassed a range of fields, and the intersection of human rights in different subfields has brought about potential conflicts and contradictions. Specifically, what this article discusses is the collision and conflict between the two fundamental rights of religious freedom and gender equality. This article first introduces its background framework, analyzes and discusses the conflicts in legal guarantees generally followed by different countries and regions as well as the international community. In this regard, this article specifically compares the relevant precedents of the European Court of Human Rights and the Supreme Court of the United States, elaborating on their similarities and differences to illustrate the cultural environment comparison of different countries and regions across regions. Based on these analyses, this paper holds that presetting the hierarchy of rights or simply transplanting a certain model cannot effectively resolve conflicts. Therefore, it advocates a contextualized trade-off framework and accordingly puts forward the relevant arguments and conclusions of this paper.
References
- Aftab, A. (2019) Religious Freedom and Gender Equality: The Sharia Debates and Gendered Institutions in Australia and Britain. Australian Journal of Human Rights, 25, 281–298.
- Shachar, A. (2016) Squaring the Circle of Multiculturalism? Religious Freedom and Gender Equality in Canada. The Law & Ethics of Human Rights, 10, 31–69.
- Di Vaio, A., Hassan, R. and Palladino, R. (2023) Blockchain Technology and Gender Equality: A Systematic Literature Review. International Journal of Information Management, 68, 102517.
- Leal Filho, W., Kovaleva, M., Tsani, S., Țîrcă, D.M., Shiel, C., Dinis, M.A.P. and Tripathi, S. (2022) Promoting Gender Equality across the Sustainable Development Goals. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 1.
- Acheampong, A.O., Opoku, E.E.O., Amankwaa, A. and Dzator, J. (2024) Energy Poverty and Gender Equality in Education: Unpacking the Transmission Channels. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 202, 123274.
- Foley, M. and Cooper, R. (2021) Workplace Gender Equality in the Post-Pandemic Era: Where to Next? Journal of Industrial Relations, 63, 463–476.
- Nguyen, C.P. (2021) Gender Equality and Economic Complexity. Economic Systems, 45, 100921.
- Cortis, N., Foley, M. and Williamson, S. (2022) Change Agents or Defending the Status Quo? How Senior Leaders Frame Workplace Gender Equality. Gender, Work & Organization, 29, 205–221.
- Clavero, S. and Galligan, Y. (2021) Delivering Gender Justice in Academia through Gender Equality Plans? Normative and Practical Challenges. Gender, Work & Organization, 28, 1115–1132.
- Nanni, G. (2023) Gender Equality, Equity, and Equal Opportunities. Measuring Gender Equality, 87, 1–30.