Kathmandu School of Law Review

P-ISSN : 2091-2110, E-ISSN : 2773-8159, DOI : 10.46985, Publisher : Kathmandu School of Law, Nepal
Annual flagship journal of Kathmandu School of Law, Nepal

Volume 3, Issue Special, May 2013
Articles

Gender, Culture and Human Rights: The Tensions and Possibilities of Resolving Them

PDF
  • Tracie Lea Scott
Tracie Lea Scott
Kannur University
Bio

Published 2013-05-31

How to Cite

Scott, T. L. (2013). Gender, Culture and Human Rights: The Tensions and Possibilities of Resolving Them. Kathmandu School of Law Review, 3(Special), 45–53. Retrieved from https://kslreview.org/index.php/kslr/article/view/1019

Abstract

This paper will argue that while the basic principles enshrined in international human rights conventions appear fairly straightforward, implementing human rights for women within different cultures requires a deeper analysis of cultural norms in order to address violations. Indeed, a more thoughtful and culturally sensitive analysis is required to ensure that one is identifying human rights violations in a way that recognizes the right of women to live their lives across a range of cultural choices. It will be argued that an analysis of agency is an important tool for understanding how to recognize and implement human rights regimes across the globe. Further, it will be argued that to develop a culture of human rights a positive step in the recognition of women's right to decide, to be protected against persecution for making decisions that lie within a reasonable range of human cultural activity, and to have appropriate government programs to redress violations in a manner that rebuilds human dignity.

PDF

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

  1. See, for example P.R. Stearns, Human Rights in World History (Routledge 2012).
  2. Y.Alibhai-Brown, ‘Wearing the burqa is neither Islamic nor socially acceptable’ <http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/commentators/yasmin-alibhai-brown/yasmin-alibhaibrownwearingthe-burqa-is-neither-islamic-nor-socially-acceptable-1743375.html> accessed December 2012.
  3. ‘Remove full veils urges Straw’ BBC (6 October 2006)
  4. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/5411954.stm> accessed December 2012.
  5. ‘Quebec bans niqab from government services’ TheStar (Canada 24 March 2010) <http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2010/03/24/quebec_bans_niqab_from_government_services.html> accessed December 2012.
  6. Brown (n 3).
  7. Universal Declaration of Human Rights (adopted 10 December 1948) UNGA Res 217 A(III) (UDHR) art 18.
  8. See A. France, Le Lys Rouge (trs: The Red Lily) (Maison Maraxin 1894).
  9. Rosalie Silverman Abella, ‘A Generation of Human Rights: Looking Back to the Future’ (1998) 36(3) Osgoode Hall Law Journal 597, 606.
  10. Ibid.
  11. Ibid 597
  12. W. Kymlicka, Multicultural Citizenship (Oxford University Press 1995) 76.
  13. J. Butler, Gender Trouble (Routledge 2007) 2-3.
  14. Ibid 198-199.
  15. For example, one article explains that omen in Egypt came out into struggle even before the revolution broke out and were present and active in it at every stage, fighting like men, for a change in their social and economic conditions. Masses of women came out in the revolution and showed heroic courage in the face of militias, thugs, repressive security and other reactionary forces. Revolutionary women in Egypt have been tortured and killed in the fight against repression and for emancipation. Sexual violence and sex attacks on women demonstrators in Egypt have been increasingly reported in the last few weeks and months. During the week of the second anniversary of 25th January, over 20 reports were made about women being sexually harassed and raped in Tahrir Square in the middle of mass protests. ‘Egypt: two years on from the revolution, what is the way forward for women’s struggle for liberation?’ (Socialist South Africa, 15 March 2013) < http://www.socialistsouthafrica.co.za> accessed 1 May 2013.
  16. UDHR(n 7) art 1.
  17. Rabina Kumari Nepali, 14, stands apart from her family in front of the chaupadi goth a squat hut where she sleeps during her period. Women in this region are considered unclean while they are menstruating and must live apart from their families during those days. They find shelter in similar huts, caves or out in the open. Chaupadi the practice of secluding women during menstruation is a form of violence against women simply based on sexuality. See Allyn Gaeste ‘Nepal: Chaupadi Culture and Violence against Women’ (PulitzerCenter, 5 February 2013) <http://pulitzercenter.org/projects/nepal-cultural-practice-women-rights-sexual-violence-chaupadimigrationWHO> accessed 1 May 2013.
  18. J. Beckett, ‘Dehumanisation and the Systemic Perpetuation of Rape’ <http://criticallegalthinking.com/2013/02/26/dehumanisation-and-the-systemic-perpetuation-ofrape> accessed on December 2012.