| Mount Athos and Human Rights |
|
| Ánna KARAMANOU, Member of the European Parliament, Chairperson of the Committee on Women's
Rights and Equal Opportunities |
"ELEYTHEROTIPIA" Newspaper |
It is a fact. The European
Parliament has been called for addressing the issue of the ban of women from
Athos and not with other more important issues. Whoever has the curiosity will
certainly discover that in the text of the famous resolution of 15 January
2003, adopted at the plenary in Strasbourg, Athos issue takes up only one
paragraph out of the total of 155, related to fundamental human rights in the
E.U., inter alia: the right to life (abolition of death penalty), prohibition
of torture and degrading treatment to others, freedom of thought, conscience,
religion, self expression and information, the right to private life, the
protection of personal data, the right to asylum, the policy on eliminating
inequalities against homosexuals,
children rights, the protection against age discrimination, handicap's rights,
freedom of movement, citizenship, right to a fair trial, the International
Criminal Court etc.
Overall, the European
Parliament has produced its most comprehensive report on human rights, drafted
by the Socialist MEP Ms Swiebel and was widely supported by the political
groups of the socialists, liberals, greens and the united left.
The Conservative Party, as
known, is not so much concerned by human rights. The marginal majority for the
report ( 274 in favour/ 269 against)
and the division of public opinion in relation to the issue of Mount Athos (the
relevant paragraph was approved by 277 in favour and 269 against) can not
diminish the significance of the political decision taken by an important
European democratic institution, even if the decision is not legally binding.
Nobody, of course, expects
that a tradition of over 1000 years can be reversed from one day to the other.
Now is reoccurring what has happened with all the bans that had existed for
centuries and the majority of which were abolished during the last century. The
bans to education, to science, to art, to literature, to paid work 'opened their gates' under the beneficial
influence of the movement of enlightenment, the intellectual movement of the
18th century that aimed to free humanity from superstitions and dogmas and to
spread the scientific knowledge coupled with the development of rationalism.
Women's ban from politics was only abolished in Greece 50 years ago. In other
european countries, this ban was abolished during the first decades of the 20th
century, after harsh struggles by the few educated women of that time.
The ban on women entering
Mount Athos, based on a decision taken by the monks 1000 years ago, today it is
neither of logic nor of morality or democratic or even religious reasoning;
since the christian teaching excludes any discrimination on the basis of sex (
citation from the Bible: "there can be neither male nor female...").
However, the church defends religious discrimination against women on the basis
of a tradition argument. The Prof. C. Georgiou has written in the Greek
newspaper "Vima" that "the church does not recognise in the
person of women the required moral standing to preach, to enter the temple's
sanctuary, or the Mount Athos. It does not allow the Bishops to marry....Even a
baby girl is considered as potentially immoral from birth, so the priest gives
his blessing for a baby girl outside the temple's sanctuary but inside the
sanctum when he is blessing a baby boy. Finally, it is worth wondering whether
human laws are fairer and more equitable."
But let us see, what are the
arguments supporting the ban that emerged from the public dialogue?
1. The ban has been
consolidated by the article 105 of the Greek Constitution and by the Accession
treaty of Greece to the EU. The truth is that there is no reference to the ban
and the exclusion of women but both texts expressively refer only to the right
of local self-governance, the duty and tax privileges and the granting of Greek
citizenship to the monks under the most favourable conditions. On the other
hand, our constitution explicitly mentions equality of rights and obligations
for women and men, as well as the E.U. treaties.
2.The mount Athos is not part
of the Greek state territory, but it is
the private domain of the monks that have the rights to take care of their
internal affairs.....If this is the case and the mount Athos is not a self
governed region of the Greek state and a place of cultural treasures and
national relics, then on what legal basis has been funded so generously by the
European taxpayers?
3.There are intentions to
turn mount Athos into Mykonos island as is argued by some fanatics, does
concern any woman, since we already propose that there should be a strict set
of rules governing visiting hours and limiting their number to once or twice a
week for both sexes, as to exactly protect Mount Athos, since it is known that
already some male tourists do not show any concern and respect for our cultural
inheritance and for the monks needs for meditation and prayer.
4. Arguments about a
women-ban at the Vatican are totally unfounded since every one knows that women
access is not fettered in any way, although they are prohibited from the
ordination as exactly happens with the Christian Orthodox Church. The total
prohibition of women with entering mount Athos, even for the monks mothers,
women theologists and nuns, is a unique phenomenon worldwide which constitutes
a clear violation of rights and can not be compared with the situation of
'male' and 'female' monasteries. Some people, of course, believe that gender
equality can only be applied to selected areas. The European Parliament,
anyway, has, many times given the opinion that no tradition and no cultural
particularity can be placed above the rule of law and the respect of rights and
dignity for the half of humanity's population.
Anna
Karamanou, MEP
Chairperson of
the Committee on Women’s Rights and Equal Opportunities
Member of the
Bureau of the Socialist Group
Athens
Office: Michalakopoulou 104, 115 28, Athens GREECE
Tel:
0030-210-7775223, 0030-210-7774654
Fax: 0030-210-7757771
E-mail: info@karamanou.gr
Brussels Office:
Rue Wiertz 60 ASP/15G302, B-1047
Brussels BELGIUM
Tel: 0032-2-284 5841 (7841)
Fax: 0032-2-284 9841
E-mail: akaramanou@europarl.eu.int