ABSTRACT
Human rights are often understood as the epitome of ethical good politics. Even this starting point is controversial: It is asked whether human rights are really useful to all, which presupposes their determination as a universal norm. The tension is particularly visible in the human rights handling of “gender”, “sexuality” and “religion”. This is evident, for example, in the debate on the (complete) veiling of Muslim women. With reference to human rights, it is argued that there is a ban because the disguise violates the rights of women. On the other hand, a ban is rejected because it contradicts the supposedly universal right to freedom of religion. There is often a connection between religion and violence in contemporary debates. The evaluation of the role of religion in the public sphere has changed fundamentally in recent years in large parts of the more secularised world. Religion was formerly considered a private matter and has a political significance for all people in the diversified society. Especially in the anti-colonial context, the importance of the category religion for gender research is emphasised. The secular-liberal principles of resistance are being revised and agency as well as human flourishing are also found beyond “Western” beliefs about freedom and good life, for example in the practice of spirituality. Main steps of in the development of Human Rights and Gender and Sexuality are analysed including the Yogyakarta Principles, which were developed from legal activists and scholars with a queer perspective.
