CHSP_Report_cover.qxd Printer: Please adjust spine width if necessary. Additional copies of this report may be obtained from: ............................................................................................................. ............................................................................................................. International Committee for the Peace Council The Center for Health and Social Policy 2702 International Lane, Suite 108 847 25th Avenue Convened by The Peace Council and The Center for Health and Social Policy Madison, WI 53704 San Francisco, CA 94121 United States United States Chiang Mai, Thailand 1-608-241-2200 Phone 1-415-386-3260 Phone February 29–March 3, 2004 1-608-241-2209 Fax 1-415-386-1535 Fax [email protected] [email protected] www.peacecouncil.org www.chsp.org ............................................................................................................. Copyright © 2004 by The Center for Health and Social Policy and The Peace Council ............................................................................................................. Convened by The Peace Council and The Center for Health and Social Policy Chiang Mai, Thailand February 29–March 3, 2004 Contents Introduction 5 Stephen L. Isaacs and Daniel Gómez-Ibáñez The Chiang Mai Declaration: 9 Religion and Women: An Agenda for Change List of Participants 13 Background Documents World Religions on Women: Their Roles in the Family, 19 Society, and Religion Christine E. Gudorf Women and Religion in the Context of Globalization 49 Vandana Shiva World Religions and the 1994 United Nations 73 International Conference on Population and Development A Report on an International and Interfaith Consultation, Genval, Belgium, May 4-7, 1994 3 Introduction Stephen L. Isaacs and Daniel Gómez-Ibáñez Forty-eight religious and women’s leaders participated in a “conversation” in Chi- ang Mai, Thailand between February 29 and March 3, 2004 to discuss how, in an era of globalization, religions could play a more active role in advancing women’s lives. The “conversation,” the first-ever of its kind, was organized by The Center for Health and Social Policy and the international inter-religious Peace Council. The participants, who came from Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, Europe, and North America, unanimously adopted an unprecedented and far-ranging dec- laration that states in part: We, the participants in this conference on women and religion, recognize that contemporary realities have tragic consequences for women’s lives. Without a commitment to women’s human rights and to the resolution of these tragedies, religions are failing the world. Their own relevance is at stake as they become more and more isolated from the values and needs of their members. It is urgent that religions address these realities. Religions must be consonant with the cultural evolution in which we are all immersed. Religions must no longer tolerate violence against women. Women are alienated from religions that do. We are committed to working toward change, and we call on oth- ers, women and men, to join in this task. Religions at their best celebrate the dignity of each human being and of all life as valuable parts of a sacred whole. They inspire and empower us to compassion and justice. Religions, however, have not always been at their best. They have collabo- rated with dehumanizing values of cultural, economic, and political powers. Thus they have contributed to the suffering of women: – They have made women invisible by denying them religious education and denying them from decision-making. – They have been silent when patriarchal systems have legitimated the vio- lence, abuse, and exploitation of women by men. 5 WOMEN AND RELIGION IN A GLOBALIZED WORLD: A CONVERSATION OF WOMEN’S AND RELIGIOUS LEADERS – This silence has been deafening in the face of such atrocities as rape, incest, female genital mutilation, sex selective abortion, and discrimination against sexual minorities – They have not recognized the conscience and moral agency of women, especially in relation to their sexuality and reproductive decisions. But reli- gions can and must do better. They must reclaim their core values of justice, dignity, and compassion, and apply these values to women. The host of the “conversation” was the Venerable Dhammananda Bhikkhuni, a Peace Councilor who was recently ordained as a Buddhist monk in Sri Lanka and has since returned to Thailand, where the clergy does not ordain women as monks. The Thai Theravadin tradition ordained both men and women until the XII Cen- tury, a practice revived in the last few years in Sri Lanka. She had arranged for the highest ranking monks in the north of Thailand to bless the opening of the meet- ing. Their presence also helped legitimize Ven. Dhammananda’s work to open Thai Buddhism to the concept of female monks. Following the monks’ blessings at the opening ceremony, a woman Thai Senator, Rabiebrat Ponganit, welcomed the par- ticipants, as did Stephen Isaacs on behalf of the Center for Health and Social Policy and Daniel Gómez-Ibáñez on behalf of the Peace Council. Aminata Touré, repre- senting the United Nations Population Fund, read a message of welcome and congratulations from Thoraya Obaid, executive director of the UNFPA. The open- ing ceremony concluded with a northern Thailand welcoming ceremony chanted by a local shaman. The formal sessions, held at the Chiang Mai YMCA, began the morning of March 1 with a plenary session in which Christine Gudorf, a North American Christian theologian, summarized her paper on “World Religions on Women: Their Roles in the Family, Society, and Religion,” and Vandana Shiva, an Indian ecofeminist who heads the Indian Research Foundation for Science, Technology, and Ecology, sum- marized her paper on “Women and Religion in the Context of Globalization.” Following discussion and comments during the plenary session and a brief overview of the context, issues, and expectations by José Barzelatto, vice-president of the Center for Health and Social Policy, the participants broke into five work- ing groups charged with identifying key issues, areas of consensus, and recommendations for action that should be taken so that religions would actively work to advance women’s lives. On the afternoon of March 2, the participants gath- ered in plenary again, and representatives from each group presented their working groups deliberations. The participants felt that it was important for the “conversation” to conclude with a declaration that would represent the consensus of the group, would transmit the sense of urgency felt by the participants, and would be used as the basis for follow-up. A drafting committee worked well into the night crafting the working groups’ deliberations and the plenary discussion into a sin- gle declaration that the participants adopted unanimously. 6 INTRODUCTION Follow-up activities are underway in many parts of the world. – The Declaration has been translated into Spanish, Arabic, Hebrew, and other languages. It is available as a concise brochure. – The Declaration is available on the websites of the Peace Council (www.peacecouncil.org) and the Center for Health and Social Policy (www.chsp.org) and has been posted on a number of other organizations’ websites, e.g., the Association of Women in Development and the Reli- gious Consultation on Population, Reproductive Health, and Ethics. One indication of widespread interest in the Chiang Mai “conversation” has been the traffic on the Peace Council’s website. After the Declaration was posted on March 8, there was an immediate and substantial increase in the number of visits—most of them hitting the page with the Declaration. There was more activity on the Peace Council’s website in March than in any month before or since. In fact on March 11 and 12, there were times when the Peace Council was registering 490 hits per hour (the average is 20-30 hits per hour). – The Declaration was discussed at a recent meeting of the International Sex- ual and Reproductive Rights Coalition a group of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) participating in the follow up to the United Nations’ Cairo Conference on Population. It was also cited on March 24, 2004 at the 37th Session of the UN Commission on Population and Development. – Several of the participants have published articles about the Chiang Mai “conversation” in hard and electronic media. Sister Joan Chittister, a Peace Councilor, used two of her weekly columns in the National Catholic Reporter to report on the conference. – Regional and national “conversations” have been held. Others are being planned. – The next meeting of the Congress of World Faiths will focus on women and religion, utilizing the Chiang Mai Declaration. – The Peace Council organized a sub-committee on women and religion and the topic will appear on the agenda of its meetings in the future. Addi- tionally, the Peace Council plans to seek observer status at the UN’s Cairo + Ten and Beijing + Ten conferences. The Cairo conference is concerned with population issues and the Beijing conference is on the status of women. – Some ordained participants have spoken of the “conversation” in their sermons or other talks. 7 WOMEN AND RELIGION IN A GLOBALIZED WORLD: A CONVERSATION OF WOMEN’S AND RELIGIOUS LEADERS – Two advisors to the Peace Council, Sr. Marilee Howard RSM and Sr. Mar- celline Koch OP, recently wrote a study guide to help individuals and groups discuss and learn more about issues raised