Some time ago I read an article about women in the Congo being raped, beaten, murdered – and about some who survived to helped other victims. They were working together to save lives without making distinctions between different ethnic groups. I read a heart-warming story of the two leaders, one a Hema, the other a Lendu. Over a long period, each hid the other in her house, depending on which ethnic group held power in the village at the time.

It was enough to make me optimistic for the rest of the day. It proved that it is possible to go beyond supposed differences.

I remember being in a school where students in their last year celebrated the end of their secondary education. One girl recited a poem about the feelings of Snow White. She was very happy to leave those nasty little dwarfs for whom she had to keep house, but she came to the conclusion that the prince would give her everything only as long as she remained the dead/sleeping Snow White, beautiful but silent. He didn’t expect her to talk, to reason; she had just to remain his beautiful princess. Nobody was interested in her as a person.

Of course, Snow White had a better life than the Congolese women, but in a way they were all victims of the same macho thinking: women should conform to men’s ideals.

Women are and always have been victims. During wars they have to keep going, looking after children, feeding them; they know what will happen when the enemy is victorious, not only in Africa. Ask the women of former Yugoslavia about their experiences!

“Woman is the nigger of the world” sang John Lennon and Yoko Ono, years ago. Imagine what the position of black women must be. We might wonder how this is possible. I will not go into all of the possible historical reasons. It is not always clear whether traditions were incorporated into religion, or whether traditions came from religion. Perhaps both.

The Torah defines woman’s role through a series of purity prescriptions. Women are particularly impure. The period of impurity is twice as long after giving birth to a daughter than to a son. In order to assure paternity, she should be a virgin at her wedding. If not, she risks stoning. The ideal woman in the Torah must not only be a good housekeeper in the service of her husband and children: she must also work to provide for the material needs of the family so that her husband can devote all his time to the study of the holy texts. In the Talmud women are described as frivolous, keeping men away from the study of the Torah. It is forbidden for women to show their hair, so many Orthodox women cut off their hair and wear wigs or scarves. But changes have happened in Judaism. Women are authorised to go to the synagogue, they are allowed to study the Torah, girls can celebrate a Bat Mitzvah, marriage rituals are being adapted and women can even become rabbis. But some extreme orthodox Jews still interpret the Torah and Talmud literally.

We find the same elements in Christianity. Eve was made from Adam’s rib, so she is inferior. It was her fault that they lost the right to live in the Garden of Eden and that women have to give birth in pain. The Catholic and Orthodox rites are the most fundamentalist: women are not allowed to become priests, which means that they can never have real responsibility within the Church. The former pope a few years ago stressed that it would be always be impossible for women to become priests. We also all know the official Catholic doctrines on abortion and birth control.

Although the Koran teaches that men and women are equal before God, there is a difference in marriage. Wives should obey their husbands. Polygamy is allowed solely for men. Husbands can divorce just by repeating a special formula three times. Several verses in the Koran encourage the separation of men and women and restrictions on women’s freedom. After the prophet’s death we see the growth of many traditions unfavourable to women. Women were considered as inferior both in reason and religiosity. They were denied education, they were not allowed to study the Koran, and consequently had no access to religious functions. Ever since, religious law has been established exclusively by men who – in general – interpret it in their own favour. The Koran and Shari’a (Islamic law) are first and foremost political statements. Equal rights for women are seen as an attack on religion, on a way of life which is different from the Western.

In Hinduism men are the keepers of the rituals, passing them from father to son. Women were excluded from reading the Vedas. Only a few were allowed to participate in spiritual debates. A woman’s principal task was to serve men in order to achieve a better reincarnation. The ideal wife was resigned, faithful and obedient. Because she was considered a burden, her father offered her husband a dowry in compensation. This tradition was the origin of child marriages and the killing of baby girls. A widow could not remarry. She was considered a constant threat for the reputation of the in-laws. That is why they were burned alive together with their deceased husbands. Many of these practices were forbidden in the 20th century, but this doesn’t mean that they have completely disappeared. Child marriage still continues.

I could go on, but it is clear that in every religion women are inferior. From those religious traditions evolved laws. As long as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is interpreted as being principally a declaration of men’s rights, not a declaration of the rights of all human beings, both women and men, women’s lives will be worth less than men’s. As Humanists, we cannot tolerate this.