In Bad Company

The U.N. declaration on the rights of women -- especially to be free of any sort of violence -- is an important step towards the full equality of females. At the same time, it still shows how culture and religion are major obstacles to achieve that goal. Various Muslim countries and the Vatican expressed their reservations, merely because the declaration recognizes women's reproductive and sexual rights. Thus, the Catholic Church allies itself with some of the worst regimes on earth, those that consistently deny women their most basic rights, as well as allow discrimination and uphold the right of men to treat women as chattel. All this about a declaration that stopped short of recognizing the rights of lesbians and transgender women explicitly.

From what is known about the new Pope, "hell will freeze over" before the Vatican changes its stand on these issues.

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