ABSTRACT
Religious traditions are quick to defend their credentials on a range of controversial issues. The rights of women, by contemporary secular standards, have not had a good track record within many religious traditions (Howland 1999). All sorts of arguments are advanced – including ‘equal but different’, historical context and cultural tradition. The matter has been largely neglected in religious education in favour of accommodating the most positive view of women in religious traditions according to the traditions themselves. This chapter highlights some of the key international legal and related standards on women’s rights and presents a few outline suggestions about how this critical area of citizenship can be approached in religious education.
