A/54/386 even non-existent, given that a woman going abroad to study has to be accompanied by a family member, that women are prohibited from driving motor vehicles and that access to buses and public facilities is subject to segregation. Legislation may also discriminate in favour of men in divorce proceedings (Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam), custody of children (Brunei Darussalam) and testimony, the evidence of one man being equivalent to that of two women (Kuwait, Saudi Arabia). In Kuwait a Muslim woman would not be allowed to marry a non-Muslim. Lastly, legislation may require that women be dressed in a certain way. The most manifest and insidious case in which women are deprived totally of their rights results from legislation which recognizes the transmission of citizenship to children only through the male line. 135. The interpretation by the courts of civil status texts relating principally to the family (marriage, divorce, etc.) also appears to affect women in many instances by placing them in an unfavourable situation, whether they are Muslim (India, Israel, Kuwait), non-Muslim, Jewish (Israel) or Christian (India, Malaysia). 136. Traditions attributable to religion are very often an obstacle to the implementation of legislation that treats women more fairly. Accordingly, in India the legally prohibited suttee and dowry traditions persist in some rural areas. In Djibouti the prior consent of a man for any travel abroad by a woman appears to be maintained by tradition, while in Turkmenistan the religious authorities seem to invoke tradition in order to instil in their followers an archaic perception of women. 137. Society can be a source of intolerance principally because, through ignorance or obscurantism, certain discriminatory attitudes towards women are associated with religious precepts. In Pakistan, for example, a woman who has converted to Christianity may find herself ostracized and rejected by society. 138. Women are the prime target of the evil known as religious extremism. The State’s responsibility to eradicate violations in this field is established in international law and must be fully exercised. 139. To sum up, despite some limited progress in matters of freedom of religion and belief, especially since the end of the cold war, the Special Rapporteur finds not only that manifestations of intolerance and discrimination based on religion and belief persist but also that religious extremism is on the rise. Apart from society in general, persons particularly affected are women and those professing a minority religion or belief. 22 140. The Special Rapporteur believes, that in order to deal with the above situation, it is essential to focus on prevention, while, of course, maintaining ongoing measures to counter current violations. 141. As the Special Rapporteur has stressed, preventive action should focus chiefly, although not exclusively, on education. It will be recalled that the Commission on Human Rights in resolution 1999/39 on the mandate of the Special Rapporteur urged States to promote and encourage, through education and other means, understanding, tolerance and respect in matters relating to freedom of religion or belief. 142. The Special Rapporteur is therefore continuing his project for the formulation of an international educational strategy to prevent all forms of intolerance and discrimination based on religion or belief, the matrix of which would be the organization in November 2001 of an international consultative conference on the content of curricula and textbooks for primary or elementary and secondary educational institutions with respect to freedom of religion and belief. 143. Prevention through education can also address the current evils of religious extremism and acts of discrimination and intolerance directed specifically at women and minorities. 144. Religious extremism, it must be stressed, spares no society and no religion. It is a perversion of religious faith and an insult to the intelligence of a human being. To tolerate this growing phenomenon is akin to tolerating the intolerable. It is therefore essential that States join with the international community in condemning it without ambivalence and combating it without compromise. Such an effort must undoubtedly include preventive action, especially through education. The initiatives of Egypt in this regard are extremely noteworthy and include books on tolerance for children and adolescents and the modernization of centres for consciousness-raising, training and further training whose purpose is to ensure integration in society and hence to combat all acts of exclusion and erection of barriers, the favourite devices of extremism. 145. Women’s actual status from the standpoint of religion, or of the traditions, practices and policies based on or attributed to religion, represents a problem which must be tackled. The preparation of a plan of action combining both prevention, for example through education, and measures to combat discrimination must be initiated as soon as possible, including through the organization of a seminar on the status of women from the standpoint of