In a region where almost 90 percent of people declare themselves to be believers and where secular laws based on international human rights norms and freedoms are in force, it is important, through the confrontation of feminist and religious perspectives, to open a space for dialogue, meeting, learning and questioning on how to arrive at new ways of understanding rights and freedoms, especially for minorities.
Despite the growing number of women who actively participate in public and political life, women are often faced with contradictions regarding gender equality arising from the secular legislation which is based on international standards of human rights and freedoms, but also on religious teachings. To be able to meet the challenges put before them, it is important for women to be acquainted with religious-based gender stereotypes and the possibilities of their deconstruction in the spirit of their own religious traditions and to question the asymmetry of power and the violence against women which is present both in secular and religious spheres of life.