\n<\/p>\n
Adam, according to Genesis, was made of the dust of the earth. Not so Eve. Adam\u2019s better half was fashioned from one of his ribs\u2014from bone.<\/p>\n
The Rabbis remind us that if you put dust into boiling water, it does nothing, remaining silent and motionless. But put a bone<\/em> in the same pot, and it will crackle. Thus, the women who never stay quiet, who sound the alarm, who first cry out the warning that things are not as they should be. This is why, according to legend, Adam, upon waking and beholding his future wife, exclaimed, \u201cThis is my never-silent bell!\u201d<\/p>\n Then, now and all the centuries in between, women have taken on Adam\u2019s welcome as a challenge and a duty. Through the ages as never-silent bells\u2014from Harriet Tubman to Eleanor Roosevelt\u2014they have raised their voices in defense of\u2014and in demand for\u2014human rights and religious freedom.<\/p>\n Earlier this year, a group of women gathered<\/a> to sound that bell\u2014to speak, discuss and urge under the sponsorship of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). Moderated by USCIRF commissioner Susie Gelman, the event was titled \u201cWomen in Freedom of Religion or Belief: Making a Difference.\u201d<\/p>\n Ms. Gelman opened the panel by bringing up two points: the prevalence of discriminatory laws against women across the globe, including the restriction of education, employment, healthcare and political participation,\u00a0often with religion as the justification, and the fact that women comprise over half of the world\u2019s population, so this is not a \u201cminority\u201d issue. Authoritarian governments understand women\u2019s inherent power and influence\u2014and, therefore, the threat that women present to their consolidation of power. Consequently, under the pretext of \u201cprotecting\u201d women in the name of religion, such governments often infantilize them and usurp their autonomy. It\u2019s not protective, Ms. Gelman explained. It is sexist, paternalistic and unlawful.<\/p>\n If these two points are included in the world conversation, then progress can be made in freedom of religion and belief.<\/p>\n Elizabeth Lane Miller, the Chief Research Officer of the Gender and Religious Freedom global network, weighed in, suggesting two possible gambits to make the egregiousness and near ubiquitousness of religious abuse of women real to the listener. The first is for women to tell their stories. Stories cut through our tendency to deny and not listen. The second is to take action to fight against the ripples of religious persecution, no matter where and no matter who or what the target is.<\/p>\n Rushan Abbas, founder and Executive Director of the Campaign for Uyghurs, agreed. \u201cAll of us have our stories,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n And the panelists told their stories.<\/p>\n Director of Outreach of the Multi-Faith Neighbor\u2019s Network, Hurunnessa Fariad, is a hijab-wearing Muslim. Citing her diminutive stature, she spoke of the palpable tension she nevertheless feels when she boards a plane. To lighten the atmosphere, she speaks loudly in English to a crew member, a passenger helping her, to anyone. Ms. Fariad says she can feel the tension deflate, which makes her feel<\/em> safer. Then, she sits in the middle of the aircraft, never at the back. That way, she\u2019s always visible, never hidden, just in case \u201csomething\u201d happens. Reminding her fellow panelists and audience that Muhammed protected Jewish people\u2019s rights in Medina, she learned to follow the Prophet\u2019s example and advocate for other faiths, not just her own. \u201cIt\u2019s in human nature to be able to say, \u2018Well, what\u2019s happening to these people is wrong,\u2019\u201d she said.<\/p>\n UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief Nazila Ghanea, appearing by video, said that women are often under surveillance, silenced and policed in their own communities, supposedly in the name of religion. Yet for women, Freedom of Religion or Belief, she says, \u201centails the rights to be able to debate, to understand, to exchange religious belief, to be able to interpret religion or belief and choose how to manifest their own conscience, their own understanding of what that belonging means. Women and girls, she added, \u201care the bridge builders of the community in many instances. They are the peacemakers.\u201d<\/p>\n Tschika McBean Okosi, Human Rights Officer for the U.S. Baha\u2019i Office of Public Relations, picked up on Ms. Ghanea\u2019s point and referred to the Baha\u2019i sacred texts. \u201cThere are [Baha\u2019i] scriptures that speak to the importance of women in building justice and peace within the world,\u201d she said. \u201cThe most important aspect of ensuring universal peace and international arbitration is the inclusion of w\u0192omen.\u201d In Iran last October, she said, 15 Ba\u2019hai women were sentenced to a collective 83 years in prison for the crime of being Baha\u2019is. Another Baha\u2019i woman was taken from her toddler and sentenced to five years for inquiring as to the whereabouts of her mother\u2019s remains.<\/p>\n