In nearly every country women and men are routinely denied their reproductive and sexual rights under the pretext of religious beliefs and cultural and traditional practices. As a result, men and women suffer unnecessarily because they lack access to the health care services they need – family planning and contraception, safe sex methods, comprehensive sexuality education and safe abortion.

2. Religion and Achieving Women’s
Human Rights in South East Asia
Conference on Freedom of Religion or Belief in
South East Asia
Azra Abdul Cader
Senior Programme Officer
29 Sept – 1 Oct 2015

3. Outline
• Who is ARROW?
• Why SRHR?
• SRHR and religion
• Examples from SEA – Indonesia, Malaysia and
Philippines
• How to act?

4. In nearly every country women and men
are routinely denied their reproductive
and sexual rights under the pretext of
religious beliefs and cultural and
traditional practices.
As a result, men and women suffer
unnecessarily because they lack access
to the health care services they need –
family planning and contraception, safe
sex methods, comprehensive sexuality
education and safe abortion

5. Who is ARROW?
• ARROW was founded in 1993 - need for a regional
women’s organisation for women’s SRHR.
• ARROW works with 19 national partners across 16
countries in the Global South
• Information & communications: agenda-setting for SRHR in
the global south driven by information and communications
– collection, creation, distillation & dissemination.
• Monitoring & research: monitoring international
commitments on women’s health, sexuality & rights to
ensure accountability of international bodies and national
governments
• Advocacy through partnerships: Effective advocacy at
national, regional and global venues is possible through
advocacy partnerships

6. WHY SRHR?
• SRHR is central to gender equality and to women’s
empowerment, and ultimately to sustainable development
• Recognises that a woman’s body is hers; she is a human being
and a citizen of the state in her own right; with rights and capacity to
exercise those rights
• Individuals must be free to decide on sexuality and reproduction,
free from harm, coercion and violence, have bodily integrity
• State obligations play a crucial and substantive role in ensuring
that these rights are respected, protected and fulfilled

7. Right to religious belief, exercise
and expression
• Limits:
– Non-­‐establishment,
i.e.
government
cannot
favour
religion
or
one
religion
over
another
in
state
policies
– Secularism
–
the
separa<on
of
church
and
state
so
state
does
not
dictate
on
religious
exercise
but
also
so
the
state
does
not
promote
religous
teachings
as
state
policies
• Viola<ons
of
human
rights,
including
SRR
because
of
the
exercise
of
religion

8. SRHR and religion
• Religion
is
interpreted
to
form
views
on
women
and
to
regulate
their
conduct
or
bodies
in
‘guarding
their
honour’
– Through
strict
patriarchal
interpreta6ons
of
texts
and
their
respec<ve
regula<ons
and
prac<ce
– Patriarchy
has
seeped
into
societal,
cultural
and
individual
ins6tu6ons
– Power
is
located
in
males,
authorita<ve
male
figures
– Underlying
belief
in
inequality
between
men
and
women
• Such
forces
have
the
space
and
authority
in
civil,
poli<cal
and
cultural
ins<tu<ons
and
usually
supported
by
poli<cal
forces
Osman
in
Thema6c
Papers
-­‐
Beyond
ICPD
and
the
MDGs:
NGOs
Strategizing
for
Sexual
and
Reproduc<ve
Health
and
Rights
in
Asia-­‐Pacific
2-­‐4
May
2012;
Kuala
Lumpur,
Malaysia

9. Religion and SRHR in SEA
Manifestations in Malaysia, Indonesia and
Philippines

10. Sanctioned Violence
Violence deemed to be permissible according to religious doctrine
• FGM - condoned as a religious practice in order to ‘cleanse’ or control a
young girl’s sexuality, and to preserve her virginal state and preparation for
‘adulthood’ despite health implications
• FGM violates the right to decide what is best for their own bodies
– Indonesia, FGM was banned in 2006 but practice was condoned by Muslim organizations
and practice continues
– 2009, the Fatwa Committee National Council of Islamic Religious Affairs Malaysia decided
that female circumcision is part of Islamic teachings and it should be observed by Muslims
(obligatory or ‘wajib’).Circumcision can be exempted if the practice brings harm.
Osman in Thematic Papers - Beyond ICPD and the MDGs: NGOs Strategizing for Sexual and Reproductive Health and
Rights in Asia-Pacific 2-4 May 2012; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
With marital rape not being criminalised and reporting of cases is low (limited
data). In Malaysia, the Penal Code does not recognise rape within marriage as
a crime (WAO, 2012). It is only punishable under section 375A of the penal
code which states that it is an offence for a husband to cause his wife hurt or
to fear death in order for him to have sexual intercourse.
Country profile on universal access to sexual and reproductive rights for Malaysia, ARROW and Federation of
Reproductive Health Associations, Malaysia (FRHAM), 2014

11. Limiting Sexual Rights
• Indonesia - Rejection of LGBT people, reference to Quranic
verses
• Non availability of SRH services, including young and
unmarried
• Malaysia – legislation discriminates to sexual orientation
– Section 21 of the Minor Offences Act 1955 allows for women and
transgender to be charged for indecent behavior.
– The Penal Code criminalises sex “against the order of nature and State
Syariah laws criminalise same-sex consensual sexual relations between
women
– These laws are used by religious enforcement authorities and the police
to assault, harass and sexually abuse transgender women
– National Fatwa Council declared several fatwas targeting sexual
orientation and gender identity - tomboys, criminalising ‘cross-dressing,’
and prohibiting sex change operations
Country profile on universal access to sexual and reproductive rights for Malaysia, ARROW and Federation of
Reproductive Health Associations, Malaysia (FRHAM), 2014 and Indonesia (YKP), 2014

12. Justifying Child Marriage
• High prevalence of child and early marriages in Malaysia and Indonesia –
affects mostly girls but also boys
• Justified by religion and enabled by the Sharia courts
• Legal framework enables the practice – legal age of marriage
• Should be viewed within a context of force and coercion
• Denial of rights - childhood and adolescence, denial of education,
premature pregnancies leading to higher rates of maternal and infant
mortality, vulnerability to sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS
• Violence - Domestic violence and marital rape
• Control over girls’ lives and bodies
– Perception that a girl is under the guardianship of the father and he decides her fate
– Religion is used counter refusals to comply – punishments, sinning, afterlife suffering
– Protecting the family name from shame and slander and controlling behaviour that is not
acceptable are other reasons used to legitimise forced and early marriages
Sisters
in
Islam.
Unpublished.
The
prac<ce
of
child
marriage
and
its
link
to
religious
fundamentalism,
Concept
Note
for
Country
Research
for
Malaysia.
Yayasan
Kesehatan
Perempuan
(YKP)
–
Women’s
Health
Founda<on.
Unpublished.
The
Impact
of
Conserva<ve
Interpreta<on
of
Shari’
ah
on
Child
Marriage
and
Birth
Control,
Country
Research
for
Indonesia.
Dra_.
Child
Marriages
on
the
Rise.
h`p://www.thestar.com.my/News/Na<on/2013/10/06/Child-­‐marriages-­‐on-­‐the-­‐rise-­‐1022-­‐applica<ons-­‐approved-­‐in-­‐2012-­‐compared-­‐to-­‐900-­‐in-­‐2011/
Girls
Not
Brides:
Child
marriage
around
the
world
h`p://www.girlsnotbrides.org/child-­‐marriage/indonesia/

13. Limiting the RH Law in Philippines
• RH Law - providing reproductive health information and services, especially for poor
and marginalised women
• Limits the possibility of a local chief executive’s religious views influencing local
policies if implemented adequately
• Bill was delayed and passed by the SC with reservations
• Interference can be seen with abortion laws, pre-marital sex, contraception access
and availability using religious interpretations – offspring within the institution of
marriage, contraception encouraging free-sex, infidelity and abortion
• Church uses many tactics
– Political interference and in the development of laws and policies
– Using media to advocate fundamentalist views
– Using political networks to take views on board
– Condemnation of progressive voices and actors
• Progressive voices – propose alternatives in line with realities of people
• Religious and cultural practices and attitudes will impede implementation of the law
Likhaan.
Unpublished.
Understanding
Catholic
Fundamentalism
in
the
Philippines:
How
conserva<ve
religious
teachings
on
women,
family
and
contracep<on
are
wielded
to
impede
the
reproduc<ve
health
laws
and
policies.
Dra_

14. How to act?
• Freedom of religion VS. freedom from religion
– Clarify the full aspects of Right to religion, i.e. as an individual
right to religious belief and expression against discrimination,
coercion and violence by states and third parties; it includes the
right not to have religion, included protection from discrimination,
coercion and violence
– Clarify that one’s individual right to religion does not allow one
to dictate the rights of others, does not allow violation of
SRHR in the name of religion
– Clarify that States cannot establish religion (e.g. church-state
divide), religion should be left out of politics

15. How to act?
• Recognize the religion limits women’s human rights,
including SRHR
• SRHR are critical and non-negotiable – we cannot pick
and choose
• Removal of legal and policy barriers and not allow
religion to influence actions that limit rights
• Do not forget international obligations – CEDAW, CRC
• Information and education, outreach to communities
as well as creating spaces for progressive views are
key – CS has a role to play

16. Abdul Cader, Azra. (2015, October). Religion and Achieving Women’s Human Rights in South
East Asia. ARROW’s oral presentation made at the Conference on Freedom of Religion or
Belief in South East Asia, 30 September-1 October 2015, Bangkok, Thailand, organised by the
Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), the International
Commission of Jurists (ICJ), and Boat People SOS (BPSOS).