India, Sept. 14 -- The recent controversies about "men" in power making degrading comments about women make a point: patriarchy is surprisingly ecumenical. A Hindutva ideologue can reduce women to sexual stereotypes; a Muslim cleric can prescribe the home as their proper place; a Christian priest can prescribe purity tests; religious institutions across traditions can still reserve the most authoritative spaces for men.

The recent Kanthapuram controversy is particularly telling. The senior Sunni cleric said women should remain quietly confined to their homes and warned of "great destruction" if they entered the public arena. He later expressed regret over the controversy, but rival Muslim organisations largely rallied behind him. Muslim...