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Men all over the world distort the teachings of Islam and Christianity to justify abusing their wives and daughters, leading to thousands of “honor” killings a year for which courts provide virtual impunity, experts say.

U.N. estimates show that more than 5,000 women are murdered every year in “honor"-related violence, but the real number could be much higher, said experts at an international conference near Stockholm, which ended Wednesday.

[...]

But some experts believe any male-dominated religion, in which God and his prophets or apostles are male figures, creates conditions for the subordination and abuse of women.

Predominantly Catholic Poland, although free from “honor killings,” has a problem with violence against women, rooted in the strong influence of the Catholic church on public life, Polish minister for gender equality Magdalena Sroda said.

“Catholicism does not directly support or oppose violence against women. But there are indirect links through culture which is strongly based on religion,” Sroda told Reuters.

“It is a structure based on patriarchal domination of God the Father and the less important role of women can be seen for example in the letters of Saint Paul,” she said.

[via: AraBlog : Yahoo News]