In the early 1970s, accompanying the current wave of globalization,
conservative nationalist religious movements began using religion to
oppose non-democratic and often Western oriented regimes. Reasserting
patriarchal gender relations presumably authorized by religion has been
central to these movements. At the Fourth United Nations Congress on
Women in Beijing in 1995, Muslim and Catholic delegations from diverse
countries united to oppose provisions on sexuality, reproductive rights,
women s health, and women s rights as human rights. Scholars from eight
different Muslim and Catholic communities analyze the political
strategies that women are employing in these contexts ranging from
acceptance of traditional doctrines to various forms of resistance,
religious reinterpretation, innovation, and political action toward
change and equal rights.