ABSTRACT
For many religious adherents, their beliefs imply a concern to change the society in which they live by restoring or establishing a social and political order in which their interpretations of religious teachings are reflected in government laws and policies. To achieve this, they may play active roles in wider movements for social change, including those seeking changes in gendered social relations – realising women’s rights, reducing gender inequality, or mobilising in support of a traditional/conservative gender order. In this chapter, the roles played by religious actors in such movements are examined, focusing on attempts to change family law. It reviews research on the aims, characteristics and outcomes of campaigns for legal reform in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Those involved in women’s movements may see religious beliefs and practices as inimical to gender equality and have antagonistic relationships with religious groups, develop links with religious feminists seeking to reinterpret and reclaim their own faith traditions, or ally with religious actors and use religiously inspired discourses and organisational resources as part of their mobilising strategies. The research shows that engagements between women’s movements and religious actors depend on the religious, cultural and political context, the women’s rights issues at stake and the choices and tactics adopted.
