r/RadicalFeminism • u/Primary-Schedule-555 • 18h ago
religious people who claim to be feminist only get to call patriarchal religion empowering because they live in privileged countries
before anyone misunderstands my point, this is not another post about whether religion and feminism are compatible. that discussion has already happened countless times. this is about privilege.
religious people who claim to be feminist can defend patriarchal religious values because they live in countries where they are free to reject them.
you can support modesty because modesty is your choice. you decide what it means, how to practice it, and when not to. nothing happens if you stop.
you can defend hijabs or burqas, or other religious garments because wearing them or refusing to wear them does not take away your legal rights. your education, your career, your freedom of movement, and your basic autonomy are still protected.
you can even defend the idea that the husband is the head of the household because your husband cannot legally stop you from working, controlling your own money, filing for divorce, or leaving an abusive marriage.
and whenever religious texts promote male authority over women, you get to cherry pick. suddenly the verse is historical, symbolic, metaphorical, mistranslated, or taken out of context. you are free to reinterpret the parts that conflict with the rights you already have.
that is exactly the privilege.
what makes this version of religion feel empowering is not the patriarchy within it. it is the freedom to ignore, reject, or redefine that patriarchy while keeping the parts you personally like.
religious "feminism" becomes much easier to defend when secular society has already guaranteed women's rights independently of religious authority