The session, chaired by Marc Grau, a member of the research group, and held under the title “Religious freedom and gender equality in Catalonia. Women’s voices”, provided a forum for participants to reflect on the difficulties they encounter in their everyday lives. In this context, Maria Rosa Ocaña, a member of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Barcelona, explained that Orthodox women who were born in Catalonia “are part of local traditions and culture”, whereas “immigrant women, mostly from Eastern Europe, often arrive in precarious circumstances and work simply to survive, setting aside their professional qualifications”. She added that, “according to these women, they are viewed as objects”.

Carme Gutiérrez, from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, noted that although members of her community do not wear distinctive clothing in public, they do follow “a commandment” that sets them apart. Gutiérrez explained that they do not drink coffee or alcohol, which means they often feel the need to “justify themselves, especially on special occasions”. In her view, “society is highly ‘areligious’; religion is not accepted externally and is seen as something outdated and saying that you are a believer is itself a challenge”.

Also contributing to the discussion was Moriah Ferrús, a member of the Jewish community in Catalonia, who highlighted that in synagogues “women are in the majority”, but that “the problem arises in the public liturgical sphere”, as “when a public act is held in the synagogue, women are excluded”. She also argued that women still require more advanced and specialised training.

Stereotypes in the media

The role of the media was another key theme addressed during the event. Noemí Cortés, president of the Evangelical Biblical Institution of Catalonia (IBEC), regretted that religion is often portrayed “as something negative”, which leads to a societal perspective that “generates confrontation rather than community”. Along the same lines, Sara El Bahri, from the Muslim community in Catalonia, stated that they are “in the media spotlight and the target of hate speech”. “The challenge is to break away from stereotypes and labels,” she added.

Another speaker, Carme Cortés, doctor in law from Abat Oliba CEU University, referred to the fact that Catholic women “face many prejudices” because “Catholic faith is interpreted as negating women; there is rejection and resentment”. In her view, “there is a form of feminism that seeks liberation from patriarchy and assumes that, in order to defend women, religion must be rejected”.

The Buddhist community was also represented at the event. Montse Castellà, founding president of Sakyadhita Spain, explained that most religions “were born in strongly patriarchal societies” and encouraged both women and men “to awaken and adopt a more holistic and transversal perspective”. “A gender perspective must be applied for the common good. It is not about equality, but about equity,” she stressed.

Rosa Rabbani, a member of the Bahá’í community, highlighted that in her case “gender equality is embedded in the DNA of the Bahá’í faith” and therefore “it is not a community choice, but a fundamental principle”.

The role of women

This event forms part of the research project Dialogue between Religious Freedom and Gender Equality in Catalonia. A Perspective Based on the 2030 Agenda (Relig 2025). The project is led by an interdisciplinary team of six researchers from two Catalan universities, UIC Barcelona and the University of Barcelona, and aims to analyse perceptions of gender equality and discrimination within religious communities in Catalonia.

The speakers agreed that women today are fully integrated into their religious communities and occupy a wide range of roles. They also emphasised that women are the majority in many areas of community life and work “side by side with men” to sustain the activities of each religious tradition.

With regard to the liturgical sphere, participants explained that practices vary across different religious traditions: while in some denominations women may carry out liturgical functions, in others they may not. However, they noted that this is not a widespread demand among women of faith, with the exception of certain sectors of the Jewish community.

The speakers also shared the view that women within religious communities “do not seek prominence”, but rather “greater responsibility or relevance”. They stressed that “the essence of being a believer is service, with each person contributing what is specific to them”. In the case of women, they highlighted aspects such as “femininity”, “motherhood” and “hospitality”, underlining that “women are bearers of life and co-creators of humanity”, and that their welcoming nature has “great potential”. Finally, they emphasised that “women can be agents of change” and that their sensitivity and perspective “make a significant contribution” both within religious communities and in society as a whole.

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