Enemies or allies? Feminism and cultural relativism as dissident voices in human rights discourse

Human Rights Quarterly

Volumn 19, Issue 1, 1997, Pages 136-164

  Brems, Eva ^a,b,c,d  

^a UNIVERSITY OF NAMUR   (Belgium)

^b HARVARD UNIVERSITY   (United States)

^c FUND FOR SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH   (Belgium)

^d UNIVERSITY OF LEUVEN   (Belgium)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 0000240051     PISSN: 02750392     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1353/hrq.1997.0003     Document Type: Review

References (171)

1. The subdivision of feminist thought in different strands used here is one that is frequently encountered. However, like most of reality, feminism resists strict categorization. It is self-evident that the thought of one author may contain elements of different strands, and that my use of these categories here should not be interpreted as an attempt to "box" anyone.
2. See MARY BECKER ET AL., CASES AND MATERIALS ON FEMINIST JURISPRUDENCE: TAKING WOMEN SERIOUSLY 17-26 (1994) (discussing the history and characteristics of liberal feminism).
3. See, e.g., International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, art. 26, adopted 16 Dec. 1966, 999 U.N.T.S. 171 (entered into force 23 Mar. 1976), G.A. Res. 2200 (XXI), 21 U.N. GAOR Supp. (No. 16) at 52, U.N. Doc. A/6316 (1966) [hereinafter ICCPR]; European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, art. 14, opened for signature 4 Nov. 1950, Eur. T.S. No. 5, 213 U.N.T.S. 221 (entered into force 3 Sept. 1953); American Convention on Human Rights, art. 24, opened for signature 22 Nov. 1969, O.A.S.T.S. No. 36, reprinted in 9 I.L.M. 673 (1970) (entered into force 18 Jul. 1978).
4. Karen Engle, International Human Rights and Feminism: When Discourses Meet, 13 MICH. J. INT'L L. 517 (1992). Engle examines Kay Boulware-Miller, Alison T. Slack, Abdullahi An-Na'im, Rebecca J. Cook, Deborah Maine, and Yougindra Khushalani as examples of the doctrinalist approach. See Kay Boulware-Miller, Female Circumcision: Challenges to the Practice as a Human Rights Violation, 8 HARV. WOMEN'S L.J. 155 (1985); Alison T. Slack, Female Circumcision: A Critical Appraisal, 10 HUM. RTS. Q. 437 (1988); Abdullahi An-Na'im, The Rights of Women and International Law in the Muslim Context, 9 WHITTIER L. REV. 491 (1987); Rebecca J. Cook & Deborah Maine, Spousal Veto Over Family Planning Services, 77 AM. J. PUB. HEALTH 339 (1987); YOUGINDRA KHUSHALANI, DIGNITY AND HONOUR OF WOMEN AS BASIC AND FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN RIGHTS (1982). Engle ranks Margaret E. Galey, Laura Reanda, and Noreen Burrows among the institutionalists. See Margaret E. Galey, International Enforcement of Women's Rights, 6 HUM. RTS. Q. 463 (1984); Laura Reanda, Human Rights and Women's Rights: The United Nations Approach, HUM. RTS. Q., Spring 1981, at 11; Noreen Burrows, International Law and Human Rights: The Case of Women's Rights, in HUMAN RIGHTS: FROM RHETORIC TO REALITY 80, 89-96 (Tom Campbell et al. eds., 1986).
5. Karen Engle, International Human Rights and Feminism: When Discourses Meet, 13 MICH. J. INT'L L. 517 (1992). Engle examines Kay Boulware-Miller, Alison T. Slack, Abdullahi An-Na'im, Rebecca J. Cook, Deborah Maine, and Yougindra Khushalani as examples of the doctrinalist approach. See Kay Boulware-Miller, Female Circumcision: Challenges to the Practice as a Human Rights Violation, 8 HARV. WOMEN'S L.J. 155 (1985); Alison T. Slack, Female Circumcision: A Critical Appraisal, 10 HUM. RTS. Q. 437 (1988); Abdullahi An-Na'im, The Rights of Women and International Law in the Muslim Context, 9 WHITTIER L. REV. 491 (1987); Rebecca J. Cook & Deborah Maine, Spousal Veto Over Family Planning Services, 77 AM. J. PUB. HEALTH 339 (1987); YOUGINDRA KHUSHALANI, DIGNITY AND HONOUR OF WOMEN AS BASIC AND FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN RIGHTS (1982). Engle ranks Margaret E. Galey, Laura Reanda, and Noreen Burrows among the institutionalists. See Margaret E. Galey, International Enforcement of Women's Rights, 6 HUM. RTS. Q. 463 (1984); Laura Reanda, Human Rights and Women's Rights: The United Nations Approach, HUM. RTS. Q., Spring 1981, at 11; Noreen Burrows, International Law and Human Rights: The Case of Women's Rights, in HUMAN RIGHTS: FROM RHETORIC TO REALITY 80, 89-96 (Tom Campbell et al. eds., 1986).
6. Karen Engle, International Human Rights and Feminism: When Discourses Meet, 13 MICH. J. INT'L L. 517 (1992). Engle examines Kay Boulware-Miller, Alison T. Slack, Abdullahi An-Na'im, Rebecca J. Cook, Deborah Maine, and Yougindra Khushalani as examples of the doctrinalist approach. See Kay Boulware-Miller, Female Circumcision: Challenges to the Practice as a Human Rights Violation, 8 HARV. WOMEN'S L.J. 155 (1985); Alison T. Slack, Female Circumcision: A Critical Appraisal, 10 HUM. RTS. Q. 437 (1988); Abdullahi An-Na'im, The Rights of Women and International Law in the Muslim Context, 9 WHITTIER L. REV. 491 (1987); Rebecca J. Cook & Deborah Maine, Spousal Veto Over Family Planning Services, 77 AM. J. PUB. HEALTH 339 (1987); YOUGINDRA KHUSHALANI, DIGNITY AND HONOUR OF WOMEN AS BASIC AND FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN RIGHTS (1982). Engle ranks Margaret E. Galey, Laura Reanda, and Noreen Burrows among the institutionalists. See Margaret E. Galey, International Enforcement of Women's Rights, 6 HUM. RTS. Q. 463 (1984); Laura Reanda, Human Rights and Women's Rights: The United Nations Approach, HUM. RTS. Q., Spring 1981, at 11; Noreen Burrows, International Law and Human Rights: The Case of Women's Rights, in HUMAN RIGHTS: FROM RHETORIC TO REALITY 80, 89-96 (Tom Campbell et al. eds., 1986).
7. Karen Engle, International Human Rights and Feminism: When Discourses Meet, 13 MICH. J. INT'L L. 517 (1992). Engle examines Kay Boulware-Miller, Alison T. Slack, Abdullahi An-Na'im, Rebecca J. Cook, Deborah Maine, and Yougindra Khushalani as examples of the doctrinalist approach. See Kay Boulware-Miller, Female Circumcision: Challenges to the Practice as a Human Rights Violation, 8 HARV. WOMEN'S L.J. 155 (1985); Alison T. Slack, Female Circumcision: A Critical Appraisal, 10 HUM. RTS. Q. 437 (1988); Abdullahi An-Na'im, The Rights of Women and International Law in the Muslim Context, 9 WHITTIER L. REV. 491 (1987); Rebecca J. Cook & Deborah Maine, Spousal Veto Over Family Planning Services, 77 AM. J. PUB. HEALTH 339 (1987); YOUGINDRA KHUSHALANI, DIGNITY AND HONOUR OF WOMEN AS BASIC AND FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN RIGHTS (1982). Engle ranks Margaret E. Galey, Laura Reanda, and Noreen Burrows among the institutionalists. See Margaret E. Galey, International Enforcement of Women's Rights, 6 HUM. RTS. Q. 463 (1984); Laura Reanda, Human Rights and Women's Rights: The United Nations Approach, HUM. RTS. Q., Spring 1981, at 11; Noreen Burrows, International Law and Human Rights: The Case of Women's Rights, in HUMAN RIGHTS: FROM RHETORIC TO REALITY 80, 89-96 (Tom Campbell et al. eds., 1986).
8. Karen Engle, International Human Rights and Feminism: When Discourses Meet, 13 MICH. J. INT'L L. 517 (1992). Engle examines Kay Boulware-Miller, Alison T. Slack, Abdullahi An-Na'im, Rebecca J. Cook, Deborah Maine, and Yougindra Khushalani as examples of the doctrinalist approach. See Kay Boulware-Miller, Female Circumcision: Challenges to the Practice as a Human Rights Violation, 8 HARV. WOMEN'S L.J. 155 (1985); Alison T. Slack, Female Circumcision: A Critical Appraisal, 10 HUM. RTS. Q. 437 (1988); Abdullahi An-Na'im, The Rights of Women and International Law in the Muslim Context, 9 WHITTIER L. REV. 491 (1987); Rebecca J. Cook & Deborah Maine, Spousal Veto Over Family Planning Services, 77 AM. J. PUB. HEALTH 339 (1987); YOUGINDRA KHUSHALANI, DIGNITY AND HONOUR OF WOMEN AS BASIC AND FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN RIGHTS (1982). Engle ranks Margaret E. Galey, Laura Reanda, and Noreen Burrows among the institutionalists. See Margaret E. Galey, International Enforcement of Women's Rights, 6 HUM. RTS. Q. 463 (1984); Laura Reanda, Human Rights and Women's Rights: The United Nations Approach, HUM. RTS. Q., Spring 1981, at 11; Noreen Burrows, International Law and Human Rights: The Case of Women's Rights, in HUMAN RIGHTS: FROM RHETORIC TO REALITY 80, 89-96 (Tom Campbell et al. eds., 1986).
9. Karen Engle, International Human Rights and Feminism: When Discourses Meet, 13 MICH. J. INT'L L. 517 (1992). Engle examines Kay Boulware-Miller, Alison T. Slack, Abdullahi An-Na'im, Rebecca J. Cook, Deborah Maine, and Yougindra Khushalani as examples of the doctrinalist approach. See Kay Boulware-Miller, Female Circumcision: Challenges to the Practice as a Human Rights Violation, 8 HARV. WOMEN'S L.J. 155 (1985); Alison T. Slack, Female Circumcision: A Critical Appraisal, 10 HUM. RTS. Q. 437 (1988); Abdullahi An-Na'im, The Rights of Women and International Law in the Muslim Context, 9 WHITTIER L. REV. 491 (1987); Rebecca J. Cook & Deborah Maine, Spousal Veto Over Family Planning Services, 77 AM. J. PUB. HEALTH 339 (1987); YOUGINDRA KHUSHALANI, DIGNITY AND HONOUR OF WOMEN AS BASIC AND FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN RIGHTS (1982). Engle ranks Margaret E. Galey, Laura Reanda, and Noreen Burrows among the institutionalists. See Margaret E. Galey, International Enforcement of Women's Rights, 6 HUM. RTS. Q. 463 (1984); Laura Reanda, Human Rights and Women's Rights: The United Nations Approach, HUM. RTS. Q., Spring 1981, at 11; Noreen Burrows, International Law and Human Rights: The Case of Women's Rights, in HUMAN RIGHTS: FROM RHETORIC TO REALITY 80, 89-96 (Tom Campbell et al. eds., 1986).
10. Karen Engle, International Human Rights and Feminism: When Discourses Meet, 13 MICH. J. INT'L L. 517 (1992). Engle examines Kay Boulware-Miller, Alison T. Slack, Abdullahi An-Na'im, Rebecca J. Cook, Deborah Maine, and Yougindra Khushalani as examples of the doctrinalist approach. See Kay Boulware-Miller, Female Circumcision: Challenges to the Practice as a Human Rights Violation, 8 HARV. WOMEN'S L.J. 155 (1985); Alison T. Slack, Female Circumcision: A Critical Appraisal, 10 HUM. RTS. Q. 437 (1988); Abdullahi An-Na'im, The Rights of Women and International Law in the Muslim Context, 9 WHITTIER L. REV. 491 (1987); Rebecca J. Cook & Deborah Maine, Spousal Veto Over Family Planning Services, 77 AM. J. PUB. HEALTH 339 (1987); YOUGINDRA KHUSHALANI, DIGNITY AND HONOUR OF WOMEN AS BASIC AND FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN RIGHTS (1982). Engle ranks Margaret E. Galey, Laura Reanda, and Noreen Burrows among the institutionalists. See Margaret E. Galey, International Enforcement of Women's Rights, 6 HUM. RTS. Q. 463 (1984); Laura Reanda, Human Rights and Women's Rights: The United Nations Approach, HUM. RTS. Q., Spring 1981, at 11; Noreen Burrows, International Law and Human Rights: The Case of Women's Rights, in HUMAN RIGHTS: FROM RHETORIC TO REALITY 80, 89-96 (Tom Campbell et al. eds., 1986).
11. Karen Engle, International Human Rights and Feminism: When Discourses Meet, 13 MICH. J. INT'L L. 517 (1992). Engle examines Kay Boulware-Miller, Alison T. Slack, Abdullahi An-Na'im, Rebecca J. Cook, Deborah Maine, and Yougindra Khushalani as examples of the doctrinalist approach. See Kay Boulware-Miller, Female Circumcision: Challenges to the Practice as a Human Rights Violation, 8 HARV. WOMEN'S L.J. 155 (1985); Alison T. Slack, Female Circumcision: A Critical Appraisal, 10 HUM. RTS. Q. 437 (1988); Abdullahi An-Na'im, The Rights of Women and International Law in the Muslim Context, 9 WHITTIER L. REV. 491 (1987); Rebecca J. Cook & Deborah Maine, Spousal Veto Over Family Planning Services, 77 AM. J. PUB. HEALTH 339 (1987); YOUGINDRA KHUSHALANI, DIGNITY AND HONOUR OF WOMEN AS BASIC AND FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN RIGHTS (1982). Engle ranks Margaret E. Galey, Laura Reanda, and Noreen Burrows among the institutionalists. See Margaret E. Galey, International Enforcement of Women's Rights, 6 HUM. RTS. Q. 463 (1984); Laura Reanda, Human Rights and Women's Rights: The United Nations Approach, HUM. RTS. Q., Spring 1981, at 11; Noreen Burrows, International Law and Human Rights: The Case of Women's Rights, in HUMAN RIGHTS: FROM RHETORIC TO REALITY 80, 89-96 (Tom Campbell et al. eds., 1986).
12. Karen Engle, International Human Rights and Feminism: When Discourses Meet, 13 MICH. J. INT'L L. 517 (1992). Engle examines Kay Boulware-Miller, Alison T. Slack, Abdullahi An-Na'im, Rebecca J. Cook, Deborah Maine, and Yougindra Khushalani as examples of the doctrinalist approach. See Kay Boulware-Miller, Female Circumcision: Challenges to the Practice as a Human Rights Violation, 8 HARV. WOMEN'S L.J. 155 (1985); Alison T. Slack, Female Circumcision: A Critical Appraisal, 10 HUM. RTS. Q. 437 (1988); Abdullahi An-Na'im, The Rights of Women and International Law in the Muslim Context, 9 WHITTIER L. REV. 491 (1987); Rebecca J. Cook & Deborah Maine, Spousal Veto Over Family Planning Services, 77 AM. J. PUB. HEALTH 339 (1987); YOUGINDRA KHUSHALANI, DIGNITY AND HONOUR OF WOMEN AS BASIC AND FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN RIGHTS (1982). Engle ranks Margaret E. Galey, Laura Reanda, and Noreen Burrows among the institutionalists. See Margaret E. Galey, International Enforcement of Women's Rights, 6 HUM. RTS. Q. 463 (1984); Laura Reanda, Human Rights and Women's Rights: The United Nations Approach, HUM. RTS. Q., Spring 1981, at 11; Noreen Burrows, International Law and Human Rights: The Case of Women's Rights, in HUMAN RIGHTS: FROM RHETORIC TO REALITY 80, 89-96 (Tom Campbell et al. eds., 1986).
13. Such proposed transformations include a focus on human needs instead of human rights, revising the catalog of human rights, breaching the public/private dichotomy, and upgrading social and economic rights and collective rights. See discussion infra Parts II.B & III.D.
14. See Robin West, Jurisprudence and Gender, 55 U. CHI. L. REV. 1 (1988) (discussing cultural feminism and its relation to radical feminism).
15. See CAROL GILLIGAN, IN A DIFFERENT VOICE: PSYCHOLOGICAL THEORY AND WOMEN'S DEVELOPMENT (1982).
16. John Hardwig, Should Women Think in Terms of Rights?, 94 ETHICS 441 (1984).
17. Gayle Binion, Human Rights: A Feminist Perspective, 17 HUM. RTS. Q. 509, 524 (1995) ("Despite serious feminist concerns about formalism, about statism, and about the function of law in general . . . the legal front and the diplomatic front cannot be eschewed.").
18. Id. at 525.
19. See Rebecca J. Cook, Women's International Human Rights Law: The Way Forward, in HUMAN RIGHTS OF WOMEN: NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES 3, 10 (Rebecca J. Cook ed., 1994) [hereinafter HUMAN RIGHTS OF WOMEN].
20. Burrows, supra note 4, at 81.
21. See Andrew Byrnes, Women, Feminism and International Human Rights Law - Methodological Myopia, Fundamental Flaws or Meaningful Marginalisation? Some Current Issues, 12 AUSTRL. Y.B. INT' L. 215 (1988-1989) (distinguishing "women's rights [as human rights]" from "women's human rights," the latter term applying to human rights violations which are not gender specific).
22. Burrows, supra note 4, at 81.
23. See also Riane Eisler, Human Rights: Toward an Integrated Theory for Action, 9 HUM. RTS. Q. 287 (1987); Celina Romany, Women as Aliens: A Feminist Critique of the Public/Private Distinction in International Human Rights Law, 6 HARV. HUM. RTS. J. 87 (1993).
24. See also Riane Eisler, Human Rights: Toward an Integrated Theory for Action, 9 HUM. RTS. Q. 287 (1987); Celina Romany, Women as Aliens: A Feminist Critique of the Public/Private Distinction in International Human Rights Law, 6 HARV. HUM. RTS. J. 87 (1993).
25. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, adopted 18 Dec. 1979, G.A. Res. 34/180, 34 U.N. GAOR Supp. (No. 46) at 193, U.N. Doc. A/ 34/36 (1980), reprinted in 19 I.L.M. 33 (1980) (entered into force 3 Sept. 1981) [hereinafter CEDAW].
26. Id. art. 1.
27. See Fran P. Hosken, Toward a Definition of Women's Human Rights, HUM. RTS. Q., Spring 1981, at 2-10; Charlotte Bunch, Women's Rights as Human Rights: Toward a Re-Vision of Human Rights, 12 HUM. RTS. Q. 488 (1990); Barbara Stark, Nurturing Rights: An Essay on Women, Peace, and International Human Rights, 13 MICH. J. INT'L L. 144 (1991); Joanna Kerr, The Context and the Goal, in OURS By RIGHT: WOMEN'S RIGHTS AS HUMAN RIGHTS 3, 4-5 (Joanna Kerr ed., 1993); cf. Adetoun O. llumoka, African Women's Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights: Toward a Relevant Theory and Practice in Human Rights of Women, in HUMAN RIGHTS OF WOMEN, supra note 11, at 307, 307-325.
28. See Fran P. Hosken, Toward a Definition of Women's Human Rights, HUM. RTS. Q., Spring 1981, at 2-10; Charlotte Bunch, Women's Rights as Human Rights: Toward a Re-Vision of Human Rights, 12 HUM. RTS. Q. 488 (1990); Barbara Stark, Nurturing Rights: An Essay on Women, Peace, and International Human Rights, 13 MICH. J. INT'L L. 144 (1991); Joanna Kerr, The Context and the Goal, in OURS By RIGHT: WOMEN'S RIGHTS AS HUMAN RIGHTS 3, 4-5 (Joanna Kerr ed., 1993); cf. Adetoun O. llumoka, African Women's Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights: Toward a Relevant Theory and Practice in Human Rights of Women, in HUMAN RIGHTS OF WOMEN, supra note 11, at 307, 307-325.
29. See Fran P. Hosken, Toward a Definition of Women's Human Rights, HUM. RTS. Q., Spring 1981, at 2-10; Charlotte Bunch, Women's Rights as Human Rights: Toward a Re-Vision of Human Rights, 12 HUM. RTS. Q. 488 (1990); Barbara Stark, Nurturing Rights: An Essay on Women, Peace, and International Human Rights, 13 MICH. J. INT'L L. 144 (1991); Joanna Kerr, The Context and the Goal, in OURS By RIGHT: WOMEN'S RIGHTS AS HUMAN RIGHTS 3, 4-5 (Joanna Kerr ed., 1993); cf. Adetoun O. llumoka, African Women's Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights: Toward a Relevant Theory and Practice in Human Rights of Women, in HUMAN RIGHTS OF WOMEN, supra note 11, at 307, 307-325.
30. See Fran P. Hosken, Toward a Definition of Women's Human Rights, HUM. RTS. Q., Spring 1981, at 2-10; Charlotte Bunch, Women's Rights as Human Rights: Toward a Re-Vision of Human Rights, 12 HUM. RTS. Q. 488 (1990); Barbara Stark, Nurturing Rights: An Essay on Women, Peace, and International Human Rights, 13 MICH. J. INT'L L. 144 (1991); Joanna Kerr, The Context and the Goal, in OURS By RIGHT: WOMEN'S RIGHTS AS HUMAN RIGHTS 3, 4-5 (Joanna Kerr ed., 1993); cf. Adetoun O. llumoka, African Women's Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights: Toward a Relevant Theory and Practice in Human Rights of Women, in HUMAN RIGHTS OF WOMEN, supra note 11, at 307, 307-325.
31. See Fran P. Hosken, Toward a Definition of Women's Human Rights, HUM. RTS. Q., Spring 1981, at 2-10; Charlotte Bunch, Women's Rights as Human Rights: Toward a Re-Vision of Human Rights, 12 HUM. RTS. Q. 488 (1990); Barbara Stark, Nurturing Rights: An Essay on Women, Peace, and International Human Rights, 13 MICH. J. INT'L L. 144 (1991); Joanna Kerr, The Context and the Goal, in OURS By RIGHT: WOMEN'S RIGHTS AS HUMAN RIGHTS 3, 4-5 (Joanna Kerr ed., 1993); cf. Adetoun O. llumoka, African Women's Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights: Toward a Relevant Theory and Practice in Human Rights of Women, in HUMAN RIGHTS OF WOMEN, supra note 11, at 307, 307-325.
32. Hilary Charlesworth, What are "Women's International Human Rights"?, in HUMAN RIGHTS OF WOMEN, supra note 11, at 58, 75.
33. See CATHARINE A. MACKINNON, Difference and Dominance: On Sex Discrimination, in FEMINISM UNMODIFIED: DISCOURSES ON LIFE AND LAW 32 (1987).
34. See CATHARINE A. MACKINNON, The Art of the Impossible, in FEMINISM UNMODIFIED: DISCOURSES ON LIFE AND LAW, id. at 5-7.
35. See BECKER ET AL., supra note 2, at 59 (defining false consciousness as "the notion that women sometimes act against their own self interest because they have internalized - as part of their consciousness - male norms and standards").
36. See, e.g., CATHARINE A. MACKINNON, TOWARD A FEMINIST THEORY OF THE STATE 237-39 (1989).
37. See Charlesworth, supra note 19, at 61; see also Helen Bequaert Holmes & Susan Rae Peterson, Rights Over One's Own Body: A Woman-Affirming Health Care Policy, HUM. RTS. Q., Spring 1981, at 71.
38. See Hilary Charlesworth et al., Feminist Approaches to International Law, 85 AM. J. INT'L L. 613, 629 (1991).
39. See Bunch, supra note 18, at 486-98; Charlesworth, supra note 19, at 71-76.
40. Binion, supra note 9, at 512 (emphasis in original).
41. Julie Mertus & Pamela Goldberg, A Perspective on Women and International Human Rights After the Vienna Declaration: The Inside/Outside Construct, 26 N.Y.U. J. INT'L L. & POL. 201 (1994).
42. See, e.g., Angela P. Harris, Race Essentialism in Feminist Legal Theory, 42 STAN. L. REV. 581 (1990).
43. See Byrnes, supra note 13, at 206.
44. See Binion, supra note 9, at 513.
45. It is a fact that the cultural relativist critique of human rights is often abused by those in power to object to the international scrutiny of the human rights situations in their countries. However, a sincere cultural relativism exists as well, and with good reason. It is this sincere form of the critique that I wish to engage in this paper. Due to the negative connotation of the term "cultural relativism," several authors, including Keba Mbaye and Makau wa Mutua, explicitly state that they are not cultural relativists. If I have treated them as such in the present paper, it is because I do not limit the term "cultural relativism" to the radical rejection of human rights.
46. See Shashi Tharoor, The Universality of Human Rights and their Relevance to Developing Countries, 59 NORDIC J. INT'L L. 142 (1990).
47. Bilahari Kausikan, Asia's Different Standard, 92 FOREIGN POL'Y 24, 27-28 (1993).
48. Fernando R. Tesón, International Human Rights and Cultural Relativism, 25 VA. J. INT'L L. 896 (1985), referring to 2 KARL POPPER, THE OPEN SOCIETY AND ITS ENEMIES 94 (1966).
49. Fernando R. Tesón, International Human Rights and Cultural Relativism, 25 VA. J. INT'L L. 896 (1985), referring to 2 KARL POPPER, THE OPEN SOCIETY AND ITS ENEMIES 94 (1966).
50. See, e.g., Adamantia Pollis & Peter Schwab, Human Rights: a Western Construct with Limited Applicability, in HUMAN RIGHTS: CULTURAL AND IDEOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES 1 (Adamantia Pollis & Peter Schwab eds., 1979).
51. See, e.g., Josiah A. M. Cobbah, African Values and the Human Rights Debate: An African Perspective, 9 HUM. RTS. Q. 309 (1987).
52. A variation of this scheme occurs when the argument is centered around ideological instead of cultural opposition. This form usually comes from communist countries.
53. See also Jack Donnelly, Cultural Relativism and Universal Human Rights, 6 HUM. RTS. Q. 400, 400-01 (1984) (making similar subdivisions); Douglas Lee Donoho, Relativism Versus Universalism in Human Rights: The Search for Meaningful Standards, 27 STAN. J. INT'L L. 345 (1991) (making similar subdivisions).
54. See also Jack Donnelly, Cultural Relativism and Universal Human Rights, 6 HUM. RTS. Q. 400, 400-01 (1984) (making similar subdivisions); Douglas Lee Donoho, Relativism Versus Universalism in Human Rights: The Search for Meaningful Standards, 27 STAN. J. INT'L L. 345 (1991) (making similar subdivisions).
55. Rejection of human rights as understood by the West is rather widespread in conservative Muslim circles. However, these authors do not reject the concept of human rights as such. Rather, they put forward an alternative set of human rights, based on Islamic sources. See Heiner Bielefeldt, Muslim Voices in the Human Rights Debate, 17 HUM. RTS. Q. 587, 601-06 (1995).
56. Universal Declaration of Human Rights, art. 18, adopted 10 Dec. 1948, G.A. Res. 217 A (III), 3 U.N. GAOR (Resolutions, part 1) at 71, U.M. Doc. A/810 (1948), reprinted in 43 AM. J. INT'L L. SUPP. 127 (1949).
57. Id. art. 5; ICCPR, supra note 3.
58. See Rhoda E. Howard, Cultural Absolutism and the Nostalgia for Community, 15 HUM. RTS. Q. 315 (1993) (giving the name "cultural absolutism" to the idea that all systems of social justice are human rights systems); see also Jack Donnelly, Human Rights and Human Dignity: An Analytic Critique of Non-Western Conceptions of Human Rights, 76 AM. POL. SCIENCE REV. 303 (1982) (providing a particularly vehement critique of those who equate human dignity with human rights).
59. See Rhoda E. Howard, Cultural Absolutism and the Nostalgia for Community, 15 HUM. RTS. Q. 315 (1993) (giving the name "cultural absolutism" to the idea that all systems of social justice are human rights systems); see also Jack Donnelly, Human Rights and Human Dignity: An Analytic Critique of Non-Western Conceptions of Human Rights, 76 AM. POL. SCIENCE REV. 303 (1982) (providing a particularly vehement critique of those who equate human dignity with human rights).
60. See, e.g., Cobbah, supra note 37; James C. Hsiung, Human Rights in an East Asian Perspective, in HUMAN RIGHTS IN EAST ASIA, A CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE 1 (1985); Ziyad Motala, Human Rights in Africa: A Cultural, Ideological, and Legal Examination, 12 HASTINGS INT'L & COMP. L. REV. 373, 383 (1989); Raimundo Panikkar, La notion des droits de l'homme est-ell un concept occidental?, 120 DIOCÈNE 87 (1982); S.S. Rama Rao Pappu, Human Rights and Human Obligations: An East-West Perspective, 8 PHIL. & Soc. ACTION 15 (1982); Prakash Sinha, Human Rights: A Non-Western Viewpoint, 67 ARCHIV FüR RECHTS - UND SOZIALPHIIOSOPHIE 76 (1981).
61. See, e.g., Cobbah, supra note 37; James C. Hsiung, Human Rights in an East Asian Perspective, in HUMAN RIGHTS IN EAST ASIA, A CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE 1 (1985); Ziyad Motala, Human Rights in Africa: A Cultural, Ideological, and Legal Examination, 12 HASTINGS INT'L & COMP. L. REV. 373, 383 (1989); Raimundo Panikkar, La notion des droits de l'homme est-ell un concept occidental?, 120 DIOCÈNE 87 (1982); S.S. Rama Rao Pappu, Human Rights and Human Obligations: An East-West Perspective, 8 PHIL. & Soc. ACTION 15 (1982); Prakash Sinha, Human Rights: A Non-Western Viewpoint, 67 ARCHIV FüR RECHTS - UND SOZIALPHIIOSOPHIE 76 (1981).
62. See, e.g., Cobbah, supra note 37; James C. Hsiung, Human Rights in an East Asian Perspective, in HUMAN RIGHTS IN EAST ASIA, A CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE 1 (1985); Ziyad Motala, Human Rights in Africa: A Cultural, Ideological, and Legal Examination, 12 HASTINGS INT'L & COMP. L. REV. 373, 383 (1989); Raimundo Panikkar, La notion des droits de l'homme est-ell un concept occidental?, 120 DIOCÈNE 87 (1982); S.S. Rama Rao Pappu, Human Rights and Human Obligations: An East-West Perspective, 8 PHIL. & Soc. ACTION 15 (1982); Prakash Sinha, Human Rights: A Non-Western Viewpoint, 67 ARCHIV FüR RECHTS - UND SOZIALPHIIOSOPHIE 76 (1981).
63. See, e.g., Cobbah, supra note 37; James C. Hsiung, Human Rights in an East Asian Perspective, in HUMAN RIGHTS IN EAST ASIA, A CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE 1 (1985); Ziyad Motala, Human Rights in Africa: A Cultural, Ideological, and Legal Examination, 12 HASTINGS INT'L & COMP. L. REV. 373, 383 (1989); Raimundo Panikkar, La notion des droits de l'homme est-ell un concept occidental?, 120 DIOCÈNE 87 (1982); S.S. Rama Rao Pappu, Human Rights and Human Obligations: An East-West Perspective, 8 PHIL. & Soc. ACTION 15 (1982); Prakash Sinha, Human Rights: A Non-Western Viewpoint, 67 ARCHIV FüR RECHTS - UND SOZIALPHIIOSOPHIE 76 (1981).
64. See, e.g., Cobbah, supra note 37; James C. Hsiung, Human Rights in an East Asian Perspective, in HUMAN RIGHTS IN EAST ASIA, A CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE 1 (1985); Ziyad Motala, Human Rights in Africa: A Cultural, Ideological, and Legal Examination, 12 HASTINGS INT'L & COMP. L. REV. 373, 383 (1989); Raimundo Panikkar, La notion des droits de l'homme est-ell un concept occidental?, 120 DIOCÈNE 87 (1982); S.S. Rama Rao Pappu, Human Rights and Human Obligations: An East-West Perspective, 8 PHIL. & Soc. ACTION 15 (1982); Prakash Sinha, Human Rights: A Non-Western Viewpoint, 67 ARCHIV FüR RECHTS - UND SOZIALPHIIOSOPHIE 76 (1981).
65. See Claude Ake, The African Context of Human Rights, 32 AFRICA TODAY 5, 5 (1987); Cobbah, supra note 37; see also Louis Henkin, The Human Rights Idea in Contemporary China: A Comparative Perspective in Human Rights, in CONTEMPORARY CHINA 7, 21-22 (1986); RHODA E. HOWARD, HUMAN RIGHTS IN COMMONWEALTH AFRICA 19 (1986); Hsiung, supra note 44; Christopher C. Joyner & John C. Dettling, Bridging the Cultural Chasm: Cultural Relativism and the Future of International Law, 20 CAL. W. INT'L L.J. 286 (1990); Piotr Kowalski, The Problems of Cultural Relativism and the Universalism of the International Bill of Human Rights, in 4 STUD. IN THE THEORY & PHIL. OF L. 91, 95 (1988); Makau wa Mutua, The Banjul Charter and the African Cultural Fingerprint: An Evaluation of the Language of Duties, 35 VA. J. INT'L L. 339, 339-80 (1995); Panikkar, supra note 44; Abdul Aziz Said, Human Rights in Islamic Perspectives, in HUMAN RIGHTS: CULTURAL AND IDEOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES 86 (Adamantia Pollis & Peter Schwab eds., 1979); Sinha, supra note 44; Raymond Verdier, Problématique des droits de l'homme dans les droits traditionnels d'Afrique noire, 5 DROIT ET CULTURES 97 (1983); Harro von Senger, Chinese Culture and Human Rights, in HUMAN RIGHTS AND CULTURAL DIVERSITY 281, 295, 304 (W. Schmale ed., 1993).
66. See Claude Ake, The African Context of Human Rights, 32 AFRICA TODAY 5, 5 (1987); Cobbah, supra note 37; see also Louis Henkin, The Human Rights Idea in Contemporary China: A Comparative Perspective in Human Rights, in CONTEMPORARY CHINA 7, 21-22 (1986); RHODA E. HOWARD, HUMAN RIGHTS IN COMMONWEALTH AFRICA 19 (1986); Hsiung, supra note 44; Christopher C. Joyner & John C. Dettling, Bridging the Cultural Chasm: Cultural Relativism and the Future of International Law, 20 CAL. W. INT'L L.J. 286 (1990); Piotr Kowalski, The Problems of Cultural Relativism and the Universalism of the International Bill of Human Rights, in 4 STUD. IN THE THEORY & PHIL. OF L. 91, 95 (1988); Makau wa Mutua, The Banjul Charter and the African Cultural Fingerprint: An Evaluation of the Language of Duties, 35 VA. J. INT'L L. 339, 339-80 (1995); Panikkar, supra note 44; Abdul Aziz Said, Human Rights in Islamic Perspectives, in HUMAN RIGHTS: CULTURAL AND IDEOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES 86 (Adamantia Pollis & Peter Schwab eds., 1979); Sinha, supra note 44; Raymond Verdier, Problématique des droits de l'homme dans les droits traditionnels d'Afrique noire, 5 DROIT ET CULTURES 97 (1983); Harro von Senger, Chinese Culture and Human Rights, in HUMAN RIGHTS AND CULTURAL DIVERSITY 281, 295, 304 (W. Schmale ed., 1993).
67. See Claude Ake, The African Context of Human Rights, 32 AFRICA TODAY 5, 5 (1987); Cobbah, supra note 37; see also Louis Henkin, The Human Rights Idea in Contemporary China: A Comparative Perspective in Human Rights, in CONTEMPORARY CHINA 7, 21-22 (1986); RHODA E. HOWARD, HUMAN RIGHTS IN COMMONWEALTH AFRICA 19 (1986); Hsiung, supra note 44; Christopher C. Joyner & John C. Dettling, Bridging the Cultural Chasm: Cultural Relativism and the Future of International Law, 20 CAL. W. INT'L L.J. 286 (1990); Piotr Kowalski, The Problems of Cultural Relativism and the Universalism of the International Bill of Human Rights, in 4 STUD. IN THE THEORY & PHIL. OF L. 91, 95 (1988); Makau wa Mutua, The Banjul Charter and the African Cultural Fingerprint: An Evaluation of the Language of Duties, 35 VA. J. INT'L L. 339, 339-80 (1995); Panikkar, supra note 44; Abdul Aziz Said, Human Rights in Islamic Perspectives, in HUMAN RIGHTS: CULTURAL AND IDEOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES 86 (Adamantia Pollis & Peter Schwab eds., 1979); Sinha, supra note 44; Raymond Verdier, Problématique des droits de l'homme dans les droits traditionnels d'Afrique noire, 5 DROIT ET CULTURES 97 (1983); Harro von Senger, Chinese Culture and Human Rights, in HUMAN RIGHTS AND CULTURAL DIVERSITY 281, 295, 304 (W. Schmale ed., 1993).
68. See Claude Ake, The African Context of Human Rights, 32 AFRICA TODAY 5, 5 (1987); Cobbah, supra note 37; see also Louis Henkin, The Human Rights Idea in Contemporary China: A Comparative Perspective in Human Rights, in CONTEMPORARY CHINA 7, 21-22 (1986); RHODA E. HOWARD, HUMAN RIGHTS IN COMMONWEALTH AFRICA 19 (1986); Hsiung, supra note 44; Christopher C. Joyner & John C. Dettling, Bridging the Cultural Chasm: Cultural Relativism and the Future of International Law, 20 CAL. W. INT'L L.J. 286 (1990); Piotr Kowalski, The Problems of Cultural Relativism and the Universalism of the International Bill of Human Rights, in 4 STUD. IN THE THEORY & PHIL. OF L. 91, 95 (1988); Makau wa Mutua, The Banjul Charter and the African Cultural Fingerprint: An Evaluation of the Language of Duties, 35 VA. J. INT'L L. 339, 339-80 (1995); Panikkar, supra note 44; Abdul Aziz Said, Human Rights in Islamic Perspectives, in HUMAN RIGHTS: CULTURAL AND IDEOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES 86 (Adamantia Pollis & Peter Schwab eds., 1979); Sinha, supra note 44; Raymond Verdier, Problématique des droits de l'homme dans les droits traditionnels d'Afrique noire, 5 DROIT ET CULTURES 97 (1983); Harro von Senger, Chinese Culture and Human Rights, in HUMAN RIGHTS AND CULTURAL DIVERSITY 281, 295, 304 (W. Schmale ed., 1993).
69. See Claude Ake, The African Context of Human Rights, 32 AFRICA TODAY 5, 5 (1987); Cobbah, supra note 37; see also Louis Henkin, The Human Rights Idea in Contemporary China: A Comparative Perspective in Human Rights, in CONTEMPORARY CHINA 7, 21-22 (1986); RHODA E. HOWARD, HUMAN RIGHTS IN COMMONWEALTH AFRICA 19 (1986); Hsiung, supra note 44; Christopher C. Joyner & John C. Dettling, Bridging the Cultural Chasm: Cultural Relativism and the Future of International Law, 20 CAL. W. INT'L L.J. 286 (1990); Piotr Kowalski, The Problems of Cultural Relativism and the Universalism of the International Bill of Human Rights, in 4 STUD. IN THE THEORY & PHIL. OF L. 91, 95 (1988); Makau wa Mutua, The Banjul Charter and the African Cultural Fingerprint: An Evaluation of the Language of Duties, 35 VA. J. INT'L L. 339, 339-80 (1995); Panikkar, supra note 44; Abdul Aziz Said, Human Rights in Islamic Perspectives, in HUMAN RIGHTS: CULTURAL AND IDEOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES 86 (Adamantia Pollis & Peter Schwab eds., 1979); Sinha, supra note 44; Raymond Verdier, Problématique des droits de l'homme dans les droits traditionnels d'Afrique noire, 5 DROIT ET CULTURES 97 (1983); Harro von Senger, Chinese Culture and Human Rights, in HUMAN RIGHTS AND CULTURAL DIVERSITY 281, 295, 304 (W. Schmale ed., 1993).
70. See Claude Ake, The African Context of Human Rights, 32 AFRICA TODAY 5, 5 (1987); Cobbah, supra note 37; see also Louis Henkin, The Human Rights Idea in Contemporary China: A Comparative Perspective in Human Rights, in CONTEMPORARY CHINA 7, 21-22 (1986); RHODA E. HOWARD, HUMAN RIGHTS IN COMMONWEALTH AFRICA 19 (1986); Hsiung, supra note 44; Christopher C. Joyner & John C. Dettling, Bridging the Cultural Chasm: Cultural Relativism and the Future of International Law, 20 CAL. W. INT'L L.J. 286 (1990); Piotr Kowalski, The Problems of Cultural Relativism and the Universalism of the International Bill of Human Rights, in 4 STUD. IN THE THEORY & PHIL. OF L. 91, 95 (1988); Makau wa Mutua, The Banjul Charter and the African Cultural Fingerprint: An Evaluation of the Language of Duties, 35 VA. J. INT'L L. 339, 339-80 (1995); Panikkar, supra note 44; Abdul Aziz Said, Human Rights in Islamic Perspectives, in HUMAN RIGHTS: CULTURAL AND IDEOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES 86 (Adamantia Pollis & Peter Schwab eds., 1979); Sinha, supra note 44; Raymond Verdier, Problématique des droits de l'homme dans les droits traditionnels d'Afrique noire, 5 DROIT ET CULTURES 97 (1983); Harro von Senger, Chinese Culture and Human Rights, in HUMAN RIGHTS AND CULTURAL DIVERSITY 281, 295, 304 (W. Schmale ed., 1993).
71. See Claude Ake, The African Context of Human Rights, 32 AFRICA TODAY 5, 5 (1987); Cobbah, supra note 37; see also Louis Henkin, The Human Rights Idea in Contemporary China: A Comparative Perspective in Human Rights, in CONTEMPORARY CHINA 7, 21-22 (1986); RHODA E. HOWARD, HUMAN RIGHTS IN COMMONWEALTH AFRICA 19 (1986); Hsiung, supra note 44; Christopher C. Joyner & John C. Dettling, Bridging the Cultural Chasm: Cultural Relativism and the Future of International Law, 20 CAL. W. INT'L L.J. 286 (1990); Piotr Kowalski, The Problems of Cultural Relativism and the Universalism of the International Bill of Human Rights, in 4 STUD. IN THE THEORY & PHIL. OF L. 91, 95 (1988); Makau wa Mutua, The Banjul Charter and the African Cultural Fingerprint: An Evaluation of the Language of Duties, 35 VA. J. INT'L L. 339, 339-80 (1995); Panikkar, supra note 44; Abdul Aziz Said, Human Rights in Islamic Perspectives, in HUMAN RIGHTS: CULTURAL AND IDEOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES 86 (Adamantia Pollis & Peter Schwab eds., 1979); Sinha, supra note 44; Raymond Verdier, Problématique des droits de l'homme dans les droits traditionnels d'Afrique noire, 5 DROIT ET CULTURES 97 (1983); Harro von Senger, Chinese Culture and Human Rights, in HUMAN RIGHTS AND CULTURAL DIVERSITY 281, 295, 304 (W. Schmale ed., 1993).
72. See Claude Ake, The African Context of Human Rights, 32 AFRICA TODAY 5, 5 (1987); Cobbah, supra note 37; see also Louis Henkin, The Human Rights Idea in Contemporary China: A Comparative Perspective in Human Rights, in CONTEMPORARY CHINA 7, 21-22 (1986); RHODA E. HOWARD, HUMAN RIGHTS IN COMMONWEALTH AFRICA 19 (1986); Hsiung, supra note 44; Christopher C. Joyner & John C. Dettling, Bridging the Cultural Chasm: Cultural Relativism and the Future of International Law, 20 CAL. W. INT'L L.J. 286 (1990); Piotr Kowalski, The Problems of Cultural Relativism and the Universalism of the International Bill of Human Rights, in 4 STUD. IN THE THEORY & PHIL. OF L. 91, 95 (1988); Makau wa Mutua, The Banjul Charter and the African Cultural Fingerprint: An Evaluation of the Language of Duties, 35 VA. J. INT'L L. 339, 339-80 (1995); Panikkar, supra note 44; Abdul Aziz Said, Human Rights in Islamic Perspectives, in HUMAN RIGHTS: CULTURAL AND IDEOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES 86 (Adamantia Pollis & Peter Schwab eds., 1979); Sinha, supra note 44; Raymond Verdier, Problématique des droits de l'homme dans les droits traditionnels d'Afrique noire, 5 DROIT ET CULTURES 97 (1983); Harro von Senger, Chinese Culture and Human Rights, in HUMAN RIGHTS AND CULTURAL DIVERSITY 281, 295, 304 (W. Schmale ed., 1993).
73. See Claude Ake, The African Context of Human Rights, 32 AFRICA TODAY 5, 5 (1987); Cobbah, supra note 37; see also Louis Henkin, The Human Rights Idea in Contemporary China: A Comparative Perspective in Human Rights, in CONTEMPORARY CHINA 7, 21-22 (1986); RHODA E. HOWARD, HUMAN RIGHTS IN COMMONWEALTH AFRICA 19 (1986); Hsiung, supra note 44; Christopher C. Joyner & John C. Dettling, Bridging the Cultural Chasm: Cultural Relativism and the Future of International Law, 20 CAL. W. INT'L L.J. 286 (1990); Piotr Kowalski, The Problems of Cultural Relativism and the Universalism of the International Bill of Human Rights, in 4 STUD. IN THE THEORY & PHIL. OF L. 91, 95 (1988); Makau wa Mutua, The Banjul Charter and the African Cultural Fingerprint: An Evaluation of the Language of Duties, 35 VA. J. INT'L L. 339, 339-80 (1995); Panikkar, supra note 44; Abdul Aziz Said, Human Rights in Islamic Perspectives, in HUMAN RIGHTS: CULTURAL AND IDEOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES 86 (Adamantia Pollis & Peter Schwab eds., 1979); Sinha, supra note 44; Raymond Verdier, Problématique des droits de l'homme dans les droits traditionnels d'Afrique noire, 5 DROIT ET CULTURES 97 (1983); Harro von Senger, Chinese Culture and Human Rights, in HUMAN RIGHTS AND CULTURAL DIVERSITY 281, 295, 304 (W. Schmale ed., 1993).
74. This theme is implicit in most of the cultural relativist texts already cited in this discussion, and explicit in Ake. See Ake, supra note 45.
75. See MELVILLE HERSKOVITS, MAN AND HIS WORKS 61, 63 (Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. 1964) (1948) (summarizing the principle of cultural relativism as: "Judgements are based on experience, and experience is interpreted by each individual in terms of his own enculturation.").
76. See Ake, supra note 45, at 5; Cobbah, supra note 37; Radhika Coomaraswamy, To Bellow like a Cow: Women, Ethnicity, and the Discourse of Rights, in HUMAN RIGHTS OF WOMEN, supra note 11, at 39; Henkin, supra note 45; HOWARD, supra note 45, at 20; Hsiung, supra note 44; Panikkar, supra note 44; Pappu, supra note 44; Sinha, supra note 44; von Senger, supra note 45, at 301, 305.
77. See Ake, supra note 45, at 9; Norbert Rouland, La tradition juridique africaine et la réception des déclarations occidentales des droits de l'homme, 26 DROIT ET CULTURES 197, 216 (1993); von Senger, supra note 45, at 308-09.
78. Mutua, supra note 45.
79. See Ake, supra note 45, at 10-11.
80. See Ake, supra note 45, at 5; Kausikan, supra note 34; Kowalski, supra note 45; von Senger, supra note 45, at 308-09.
81. Sinha, supra note 44, at 89-90; cf. Kishore Mahbubani, Deputy Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Singapore, quoted in Christina M. Cerna, Universality of Human Rights and Cultural Diversity: Implementation of Human Rights in Different Socio-Cultural Contexts, 16 HUM. RTS. Q. 741, 745 (1994).
82. See KEBA MBAYE, LES DROITS DE L'HOMME EN AFRIQUE 50 (1992); Tharoor, supra note 33, at 152.
83. An explicit option to stay within the human rights system is found in Kausikan, supra note 34, at 39; see also Panikkar, supra note 44, at 110.
84. See Charlesworth, supra note 19, at 74.
85. For example, the British colonial rulers in India retained the family laws applicable to different parts of the population (Hindus, Muslims, and Parsis) on the basis of their religion. Today family laws in India are still divided along religious lines. Indian feminists consider this a major obstacle to women's rights in their country. See Kirti Singh, Obstacles to Women's Rights in India, in HUMAN RIGHTS OF WOMEN, supra note 11, at 375.
86. Eisler, supra note 15, at 295, 296.
87. Joan Fitzpatrick, The Use of International Human Rights Norms to Combat Violence Against Women, in HUMAN RIGHTS OF WOMEN, supra note 11, at 532, 541.
88. Reza Afshari, An Essay on Islamic Cultural Relativism in the Discourse of Human Rights, 16 HUM. RTS. Q. 235, 256 (1994); Nancy Kim, Toward a Feminist Theory of Human Rights: Straddling the Fence Between Western Imperialism and Uncritical Absolutism, 25 COLUM. HUM. RTS. L. REV. 49, 90 (1993).
89. Reza Afshari, An Essay on Islamic Cultural Relativism in the Discourse of Human Rights, 16 HUM. RTS. Q. 235, 256 (1994); Nancy Kim, Toward a Feminist Theory of Human Rights: Straddling the Fence Between Western Imperialism and Uncritical Absolutism, 25 COLUM. HUM. RTS. L. REV. 49, 90 (1993).
90. See Coomaraswamy, supra note 48, at 40 (arguing that assumptions about the female personality that accompany the discourse on women's rights are not universal).
91. See Michelle Zimbalist Rosaldo, Woman, Culture, and Society: A Theoretical Overview, in WOMAN, CULTURE AND SOCIETY 17 (Michelle Zimbalist Rosaldo & Louise Lamphere eds., 1974); Charlesworth, supra note 19, at 62.
92. See Hope Lewis, Between Irua and "Female Genital Mutilation": Feminist Human Rights Discourse and the Cultural Divide, 8 HARV. HUM. RTS. J. 23 (1995).
93. See Asma Mohamed Abdel Halim, Challenges to the Application of International Women's Human Rights in the Sudan, in HUMAN RIGHTS OF WOMEN, supra note 11, at 397, 411.
94. Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, adopted by The World Conference on Human Rights, 2 June 1993, U.N. Doc. A/Conf.157/24 (Part I), at 29 (13 Oct. 1993) [hereinafter Vienna Declaration].
95. Final Declaration of the Regional Meeting for Asia of the World Conference on Human Rights, adopted 7 Apr. 1993, U.N. Doc. A/Conf.157/ASRM/8-A/Conf.1 57/PC/59 (1993) [hereinafter Bangkok Declaration].
96. Id. at 3 § 8.
97. For instance, at the interregional meeting organized by the Council of Europe in advance of the World Conference on Human Rights, the affirmation of the universality of human rights was advanced as the first among six proposals for action. See Conclusions by the General Rapporteur, Mary Robinson, President of Ireland, in HUMAN RIGHTS AT THE DAWN OF THE 21 ST CENTURY: PROCEEDINGS, INTERREGIONAL MEETING ORGANIZED BY THE COUNCIL of EUROPE IN ADVANCE OF THE WORLD CONFERENCE ON HUMAN RIGHTS 115, 117 (1993).
98. Women's Rights as Human Rights: an international lobbying success story, HUM. RTS. TRIB., June 1993, at 29 [hereinafter Women's Rights Lobbying Success]; Wendy Parker & Pauline Comeau, Women Succeed in Vienna Where Others Fail, HUM. RTS. TRIB., Nov. 1993, at 22.
99. Women's Rights as Human Rights: an international lobbying success story, HUM. RTS. TRIB., June 1993, at 29 [hereinafter Women's Rights Lobbying Success]; Wendy Parker & Pauline Comeau, Women Succeed in Vienna Where Others Fail, HUM. RTS. TRIB., Nov. 1993, at 22.
100. Vienna Declaration, supra note 65.
101. "The universal nature of these rights and freedoms is beyond question." Id. at 4 ¶ 1. "All human rights are universal, indivisible and interdependent and interrelated." Id. at 5 ¶ 5. See also id. at 11 ¶ 32; id. at 12 ¶ 37.
102. Id. at 5 ¶ 5.
103. Cerna, supra note 53, at 742.
104. Vienna Declaration, supra note 65.
105. Id. at 7 ¶ 18.
106. Id.; see also id. at 18 ¶ 37.
107. Id. at 7 ¶ 18; id. at 19 ¶ 38.
108. Mertus & Goldberg, supra note 28, at 202.
109. Donna J. Sullivan, Women's Human Rights and the 1993 World Conference on Human Rights, 88 AM. J. INT'L L. 152 (1994).
110. Vienna Declaration, supra note 65, at 19 ¶ 38.
111. Id. at 21 ¶ 49.
112. Report of the International Conference on Population and Development, Cairo 1994, U.N. Doc. A/Conf.171/13 (18 Oct. 1994) [hereinafter Cairo Conference Report].
113. Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development, Cairo 1994, adopted 13 Sept. 1994, U.N. Doc. A/Conf.171/13.Annex (18 Oct. 1994) [hereinafter Cairo Programme of Action].
114. Id. princ. 4.
115. Vienna Declaration, supra note 65, ¶ 18(1).
116. Cairo Conference Report, supra note 82, § 5.1; see also Cairo Programme of Action, supra note 83, princ. 9.
117. Cairo Conference Report, supra note 82, § 4.21.
118. See id. §§ 4.22, 7.6.
119. Id. § 4.3(a).
120. Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, adopted 15 Sept. 1995, Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace, ¶ ¶ 9, 213, reprinted in MEIKLEJOHN CIVIL LIBERTIES INSTITUTE, BEIJING DECLARATION AND PLATFORM FOR ACTION: ADVANCE UNEDITED DRAFT (1996). See also id. ¶ ¶ 211, 212.
121. Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, adopted 15 Sept. 1995, Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace, ¶ ¶ 9, 213, reprinted in MEIKLEJOHN CIVIL LIBERTIES INSTITUTE, BEIJING DECLARATION AND PLATFORM FOR ACTION: ADVANCE UNEDITED DRAFT (1996). See also id. ¶ ¶ 211, 212.
122. Id. ¶ 2.
123. Id. ¶ 9.
124. Id. ¶ 40.
125. Id. ¶ 108(a).
126. Id. ¶ ¶ 114(a), 119, 125(i), (k).
127. Id. ¶ ¶ 225, 232(g), (h), 283(d), 274(f), 276(b).
128. Id. ¶ 125(a).
129. Id. ¶ 158.
130. Id. ¶ 71.
131. Id. ¶ 25.
132. Id. ¶ 276(d).
133. Id. ¶ 30.
134. See also id. ¶ ¶ 85(p), 107(c), 242(d).
135. MBAYE, supra note 54, at 41.
136. See Kim, supra note 60, at 99-101.
137. See Catherine Harries, Daughters of our peoples: International Feminism Meets Ugandan Law and Custom, 25 COLUM. HUM. RTS. L. REV. 493, 509 n.55 (1994) (making reference to challenges of essentialist feminism).
138. Id. at 511-12.
139. Annie Bunting, Theorizing Women's Cultural Diversity in Feminist International Human Rights Strategies, 20 J.L. & SOC'Y 6, 11-13 (1993).
140. Ake, supra note 45, at 9.
141. See Charlesworth et al., supra note 25, at 616-17 (noting this parallel). See also Isabelle R. Gunning, Arrogant Perception, World-travelling and Multicultural Feminism: The Case of Female Genital Surgeries, 23 COLUM. HUM. RTS. L. REV. 189, 189-248 (1991-1992) (noting that the lack of a strong enforcement mechanism in the international human rights system is a strength rather than a weakness in light of the need for a capacity for cultural sensitivity).
142. Sandra Harding, quoted in Charlesworth et al., supra note 25, at 617; cf. V. Spike Peterson, Whose Rights? A Critique of the "Givens" in Human Rights Discourse, 15 ALTERNATIVES 303 (1990).
143. Bunting, supra note 108, at 10; cf. J. Oloka-Onyango & Sylvia Tamale, "The Personal is Political," or Why Women's Rights are Indeed Human Rights: An African Perspective on International Feminism, 17 HUM. RTS. Q. 691, 711-12 (1995).
144. Binion, supra note 9, at 524-26.
145. Peterson, supra note 111 (referring to parallel critiques of human rights by feminists and cultural relativists).
146. See, e.g., Halim, supra note 64, at 419; Florence Butegwa, Using the African Charter on Human and People's Rights to Secure Women's Access to Land in Africa, in HUMAN RIGHTS OF WOMEN, supra note 11, at 495, 509-11 ; Jennifer Jewett, The Recommendations of the International Conference on Population and Development: The Possibility of the Empowerment of Women in Egypt, 29 CORNELL INT'L L.J. 191 (1996).
147. See, e.g., Halim, supra note 64, at 419; Florence Butegwa, Using the African Charter on Human and People's Rights to Secure Women's Access to Land in Africa, in HUMAN RIGHTS OF WOMEN, supra note 11, at 495, 509-11 ; Jennifer Jewett, The Recommendations of the International Conference on Population and Development: The Possibility of the Empowerment of Women in Egypt, 29 CORNELL INT'L L.J. 191 (1996).
148. See An-Na'im, supra note 4; Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na'im, State Responsibility Under International Human Rights Law to Change Religious and Customary Laws, in HUMAN RIGHTS OF WOMEN, supra note 11, at 167.
149. Ronald Thandabantu Nhlapo, International Protection of Human Rights and the Family: African Variations on a Common Theme, 3 INT'L J.L. & FAM. 1, 17 (1989).
150. Coomaraswamy, supra note 48, at 39.
151. Michael J. Sandel, The Procedural Republic and the Unencumbered Self, 12 POL. THEORY 81, 81 (1984).
152. Seyla Benhabib, The Generalized and the Concrete Other: The Kohlberg-Gilligan Controversy and Feminist Theory, in FEMINISM AS CRITIQUE 77 (Seyla Benhabib & Drucilla Cornell eds., 1987).
153. Nitya Duclos, Lessons of Difference: Feminist Theory on Cultural Diversity, 38 BUFF. L. REV. 325, 375-80 (1990).
154. MARTHA MINOW, MAKING ALL THE DIFFERENCE (1990).
155. CEDAW, supra note 16.
156. ICCPR, supra note 3.
157. International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, art. 15, adopted 16 Dec. 1966, 993 U.N.T.S. 3 (entered into force 3 Jan. 1976), G.A. Res. 2200 (XXI), 21 U.N. GAOR Supp. (No. 16) at 49, U.N. Doc. A/6316 (1966).
158. Donna J. Sullivan, Gender Equality and Religious Freedom: Toward a Framework for Conflict Resolution, 24 N.Y.U. J. INT'I L. & POL. 795 (1992).
159. Cf. International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, supra note 125, art. 15 ¶ 1(a) (proclaiming the right "to take part in cultural life"). Judging from the rest of Article 15, the framers did not intend to protect cultural identities, but rather the participation in art, science, etc. See id.
160. See Joyner & Dettling, supra note 45, at 290 (pleading for the formulation of such a right).
161. Universal Declaration of Human Rights, supra note 41, art. 29(2).
162. ICCPR, supra note 3.
163. European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, supra note 3.
164. Eva Brems, The Margin of Appreciation Doctrine in the Case-Law of the European Court of Human Rights, 56 ZEITSCHRIFT FüR AUSLÄNDISCHES ÖFFENTLICHES RECHT UND VÖLKERRECHT 240 (1996).
165. Pieter van Dijk, A Common Standard of Achievement: About Universal Validity and Uniform Interpretation of International Human Rights Norms, 13 NETH. Q. HUM. RTS. 105, 117(1995) (citing Article 16, paragraph 2 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to illustrate this point in reference to
166. E.g., Buckley v. United Kingdom, 19 Eur. H.R. Rep. C.D. 20, ¶ 65 (1995) (gypsy who was prevented from living with her family in her caravans, on her land, claimed that this treatment interfered with her rights regarding family life, private life, and home).
167. HOWARD, supra note 45, at 198; Katherine Brennan, The Influence of Cultural Relativism on International Human Rights Law: Female Circumcision as a Case Study, 7 L. & INEQ. J., July 1989, at 367, 398.
168. If Western countries seriously believe that particular cultural practices violate women's human rights, the minimum these countries should do is accord refugee status to women fleeing such practices. Cf. Pauline Comeau, Woman fleeing Islamic edicts allowed to stay in Canada, HUM. RTS. TRIB., Winter 1993, at 19 (illustrating the rare exception to the thesis that Western states' commitment to human rights stops where the states feel that their own policies are somehow threatened by the demands of human rights).
169. Cf. Craig Scott, The Interdependence and Permeability of Human Rights Norms: Towards a Partial Fusion of the International Covenants on Human Rights, 27 OSGOODE HALL L.J. 769 (1989); Rolf Künnemann, A Coherent Approach to Human Rights, 17 HUM. RTS. Q. 323 (1995).
170. Cf. Craig Scott, The Interdependence and Permeability of Human Rights Norms: Towards a Partial Fusion of the International Covenants on Human Rights, 27 OSGOODE HALL L.J. 769 (1989); Rolf Künnemann, A Coherent Approach to Human Rights, 17 HUM. RTS. Q. 323 (1995).
171. Women's Rights Lobbying Success, supra note 69, at 30.