Human Rights Commission: "Restricting Women from Entering Temples Solely Because They Are Women Violates Equality Rights"

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] The National Human Rights Commission of Korea has ruled that restricting temple entry based on gender constitutes a violation of the right to equality.

On the 29th, the Human Rights Commission announced that it recommended the General Secretary of the Korean Buddhist A-jongdan to improve the practice of restricting temple entry based on gender. The Commission explained, "Restricting women's entry to temples regardless of their status within the religion or whether they are believers is an act of preferential treatment, exclusion, discrimination, or disadvantage based on gender without reasonable grounds in relation to the supply or use of goods."

Earlier, the Commission received a complaint from a woman who was discriminated against on the grounds of gender after being denied entry to a temple of A-jongdan during a visit for tourism, with the explanation that "only men are allowed entry on the first day of the lunar calendar's second month." A-jongdan responded, "This is based on the will of the first Supreme Patriarch (the highest elder of the sect) who revived the order and founded the temple over 70 years ago," adding, "The first month of the lunar year and the first day of the second lunar month are considered pure days, and there is a tradition of men exclusively dedicating themselves to prayer on these days."

The Human Rights Commission sided with the complainant. It found that A-jongdan failed to provide any reasonable grounds for restricting women's entry on specific days beyond the argument that it is a tradition based on the first Supreme Patriarch's will. Furthermore, the Commission judged that restricting entry by viewing women as impure contradicts the constitutional value of realizing gender equality and is difficult to justify. The Commission stated, "Limiting constitutionally guaranteed fundamental rights based on sectarian traditions exceeds the scope of religious freedom," and added, "A-jongdan's claim that unfavorable treatment of women falls under religious freedom lacks reasonable grounds."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.