Policy Brief No. 10. Refugee Women, Gender and Religious Freedom in Europe: Towards an Intersectional Approach in Asylum and Equality Policies

• Pages: 87-94
• Author: Francisca Pérez-Madrid

TARGET AUDIENCE

Technical sta of European and international institutions, public policy ocials of EU Member Sta-

tes, legislators, legal practitioners, professionals in international organisations, and civil society orga-

nisations working in the elds of asylum, equality, human rights and religious diversity management.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Across EU Member States, asylum applications involving combined gender- and religion-based per-

secution are still assessed through fragmented procedures. The Common European Asylum System

(CEAS) lacks operational criteria requiring joint assessment, resulting in inconsistent decisions, un-

justied refusals and persistent underprotection of women such as Afghan, Iranian, Yazidi or Coptic

applicants.

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU)’s 2024 trilogy (WS v. Bulgaria, K.L. v. Nether-

lands, AH and FN v. Austria) establishes binding standards requiring Member States to assess gen-

der and religion jointly when both grounds materially coincide. Implementation remains uneven due

to the absence of adapted protocols and adequate training.

This document proposes ve prioritised recommendations to align CEAS practice with European

legal standards.

KEY POLICY QUESTION

How can European institutions and Member States ensure eective protection for refugee women

whose persecution combines gender and religious grounds, without subordinating one fundamental

right to the other and while guaranteeing coherence across the Common European Asylum System?

87

GENDER EQUALITY AND RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN THE 2030 AGENDA:

TEN POLICY BRIEFS

Francisca Pérez-Madrid (coord.)

Dykinson, Madrid, 2026

POLICY BRIEF

REFUGEE WOMEN, GENDER AND RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN EUROPE:

TOWARDS AN INTERSECTIONAL APPROACH IN ASYLUM AND EQUALITY POLICIES

Francisca Pérez-Madrid

Full Professor of Law, Universitat de Barcelona

1

THE POLICY

PROBLEM

Asylum authorities across the EU often examine gender- and religion-based perse-

cution separately, despite the fact that harm frequently arises from their interaction.

Cases illustrating this include Afghan women subjected to Taliban restrictions, whose

cumulative discriminatory measures constitute persecution in themselves (AH and FN

v. Austria); Kurdish Turkish women facing domestic violence linked to ethno-religious

persecution (WS v. Bulgaria); and Iraqi women at risk upon return after adopting gen-

der equality values while living in Europe (K.L. v. Netherlands).

Groups particularly aected include:

u Women facing apostasy accusations, restrictions based on religious gender norms,

or religiously grounded forced marriage.