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Mobilizing Faith for WomenSwitzerland, so I am one of those who belongs toevery place in the world, and my comments todaycome from that experience.The place of religion in our society is a big topic.It has always been there, but today we see it as adetermining issue for our future. Everywhere I go,particularly in the Middle East, I see the issue ofwomen’s rights as the main battleground on whichto determine the direction of the state. If we getwomen’s rights right, we get everything right. If wedo not get women’s rights right, I think everythingwill disintegrate, and we will have a real problem.Discussions about the role of religion in the state,especially in cultures like ours, are appropriate. I haveno problem with the discussion; actually it is a verygood discussion provided it is a discussion in whichpeople raise their views without fear of intimidation,reprisal, or being mocked on television and in themedia. This is fine; we have to settle these issues inour society. We have to settle the place of religion inthe state, and the only way to go about it is to discussit. There is no other way; we have to discuss it. Butif fear and intimidation enter the picture, we will runinto problems.We are all human beings; nobody has, I wouldsay, monopoly over the truth. We are not God; weare just his servants. We are not God, so we cannotpretend to be God and be the only ones who knowthe truth. Let me share two verses from the Bible andthe Qur’an that say the same thing. The Bible says,“Glory and honor and peace be for everyone whodoes good, the Jew first and also the Greek, for Godshows no partiality.” God loves everybody. In theHoly Qur’an, an even clearer verse that is extremelynice says, “And their Lord responded to them: Neverwill I allow to be lost the work of any of you, whethermale or female.” The Qur’an is very clear: There areparity and equality there.Allow me to say a few words about where I thinkthe discussion stands today. We have a total imbalancein our legal system with regard to women’sissues. When it comes to protection against violence,we have very shallow frameworks. When it comes topromoting practices that could lead to discrimination,we have ample rules. It is a fact that violence is anormal way of life for many women. It is a sad reality.When you walk in the streets, the hassle and harassmentyou get from the age of 2 or 3 are incredible. Ifyou walk into a police station, the story that PresidentCarter told is the story of many women throughoutthe world. If you speak about your abuser, you aremocked and are accused of being immoral. The lawenforcement agents don’t work to protect you; theywork against you; the system works against you.Often, the streets are dark, and women cannot walkfor fear for their safety. Many girls even fear goingto the bathrooms in schools because they cannot beprotected from violence. Violence against women,and girls more profoundly, is a normal way of life formany people. The state has invested very little untilnow toward addressing this problem.“I don’t see why religiousleaders are not standing up;why religious leaders cannotsay, ‘For God’s sake, hasslingwomen in the streets is a sin; it’sagainst human dignity.’ That iswhat we need. There is nothingin any religion that says you canhassle women in the streets.”— Mona RishmawiHuman rights are our claims against the state. Asa human rights person, I put a lot of emphasis onthe state. I don’t see why religious leaders are notstanding up; why religious leaders cannot say, “ForGod’s sake, hassling women in the streets is a sin; it’sagainst human dignity.” That is what we need. Thereis nothing in any religion that says you can hasslewomen in the streets. Why are people not standing upto say this has to stop? Why aren’t we working towardThe Carter Center 21