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Women's Rights in Liberal States and the Challenge of Right-Wing Populism
With
Prof. Gila Stopler
College of Law and Business, Israel
Commentator:
Prof. Noya Rimalt
The Forum for Gender Law and Policy, Faculty of Law, University of Haifa
December 3, 2025, at 14:15-15:45
Hybrid event: Zoom* and room 1013**
Hamadrega building, University of Haifa
Abstract
The rise of religious conservatism and right-wing populism has exposed the fallibility of women’s rights in liberal states and has seriously undermined women’s ability to trust liberal states to protect their rights against religious and populist attacks. Gila Stopler argues that right-wing populists and religious conservatives successfully attack women’s rights in liberal democracies because of the patriarchal foundations of liberalism and liberal societies. Engaging with political theories such as feminism, liberalism and populism, and examining concepts like patriarchy, culture, religion and the public-private distinction, the book uncovers the deep entrenchment of patriarchy in legal structures, social and cultural systems, and mainstream religions within liberal democracies. It analyses global cases and legal frameworks, focusing on liberal democracies and especially the USA.
In her talk Stopler will focus on recent developments in the USA and Israel to demonstrate how patriarchy fuels right-wing populism, accelerates the erosion of women’s rights and threatens the future of liberal democracy.
In her talk Stopler will focus on recent developments in the USA and Israel to demonstrate how patriarchy fuels right-wing populism, accelerates the erosion of women’s rights and threatens the future of liberal democracy.
Gila Stopler is a Full Professor of Law and former Dean of Law School at the College of Law & Business. She is currently the head of the Human Rights Division and head of the MA in Law and Society. Stopler serves as the Editor-in-Chief of the journal Law & Ethics of Human Rights. Her book “Women’s Rights in Liberal States: Patriarchy, Liberalism, Religion and the Chimera of Rights” was published in June 2025 by Cambridge University Press. Stopler’s areas of expertise include constitutional law, comparative constitutional law, religion state relations, multiculturalism, women’s rights, human rights, populism and democratic erosion. She served as Chair of the Board of the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) between 2013-2017
