E/CN.4/2002/73/Add.2 page 25 II. FACTUAL ASPECTS OF THE STATUS OF WOMEN IN THE LIGHT OF RELIGION AND TRADITIONS 88. All religions and beliefs are in principle included in the scope of the present study. However, one point must be made clear. If account is taken not only of cultural factors, the human rights dimension and the experiences of human rights bodies, especially within the United Nations context, but also of the need for scientific credibility of the sources used, some religions—or rather some practices based on or imputed to religion—will necessarily receive more prominence than others. Also, the citing of one religion or religious and/or cultural practice and not another should in no circumstances be perceived as expressing an opinion or a judgment on the validity of a particular religion or belief. Because they are part of our innermost being and a fundamental aspect of our lives, all religions, beliefs and spiritualities are involved and thus warrant full consideration and absolutely equal treatment. 89. Understanding and appreciating the real significance of practices that discriminate against women in the world’s religions call for a multifaceted approach, which entails first identifying the textual or—failing which—historical roots of such practices in relation to the religion which gave rise to them and then determining their present state through an attempt, where possible, to demonstrate the role of sociocultural background in the exacerbation or marginalization of these discriminatory attitudes. 90. Cultural or religious practices and traditions affecting women’s status vary from one country and continent to another. Some countries or groups of countries or regions are nevertheless more known for certain practices. That applies, for example, to genital mutilation of women in sub-Saharan Africa or traditional marriage practices in Asia. Certain practices wrongly associated with a religion or culture can exist equally in countries with very different cultural and religious traditions. Distinctions must, however, in all cases be made in regard to women’s rights. A. Persistence of cultural stereotypes detrimental to women 1. General considerations 91. Several States and entire segments of society regularly cite religion and/or cultural differences to explain why the advancement of women’s status has not kept pace with the overall development of society .87 CEDAW notes that stereotyped conceptions of women attributable to sociocultural factors exist to varying degrees in all States.88 92. Also, the persistence of a patriarchal culture and the continuing importance attached to the traditional role of women as wives and mothers responsible for the upbringing of children and to the role of men as breadwinners can legitimize and reinforce prevailing stereotypes. Most cultures, including in industrialized countries, are exposed to such patriarchal patterns of behaviour.89 An actual ideology of male superiority appears to have developed in many civilizations.90 Many States are involved, even States where de jure equality between men and women is widely established91 or States which profess secularism,92 irrespective of the ethnic and religious diversity of the population93 or stage of development.