Apostasy is a feminist issue

This week's Accent of Women looks at apostasy – the practice of changing or leaving your religion.Apostasy is a critical demand for the international workers movement – it goes to the heart of collective consciousness, especially working class consciousness. It is about breaking the chains of religion that suppress and oppress, particularly women.But it is also an extremely difficult conversation to have, in this political climate. Atheism and the rejection of religion entirely, arises with scientific and technological development – and these two things are often conflated with western progress. So then, the conversation about apostasy is often appropriated by liberals, right-wing feminists, and quite frankly, racists.And yet, apostasy is a critical demand of the international workers movement.Accent of Women attempts to have this conversation. There are progressives right across the world, challenging the hold of religion on their lives, their societies, and their struggles for liberation. They live in places like Egypt, Iran, Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia. These socialists, these progressive, require our solidarity. In exactly the same way, that Muslims under atttack in Australia, the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Germany, France, need our solidarity in defence of their right to practice their religion.