Universalism, Relativism and a Step Beyond. Equality of Men and Women’s Rights as a Cultural Practice
Keywords:
cultural practice, human rights, women, feminismAbstract
This article presents an analysis of the universalists vs. relativists debate concerning human rights. Emphasis is placed on the cultural practice approach, which in the author’s opinion is the accurate one in approaching power/knowledge relations, and therefore very useful for an anthropologist and eminently applicable in fieldwork. The author’s theses are exemplified by her studies in and of the non-governmental women’s organisations in Delhi, in order to demonstrate how gender equality is constructed and how its meaning is negotiated in the colloquial understanding of the notion of equality
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References
Beijing Declaration, 1995
Constitution of India, 1949
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, 1979
Cowan Jane K., Dembour Marie - Benedicte, Wilson Richard A., 2001, Introduction, [in:] Culture and rights. Anthropological perspectives, ed. by Cowan Jane K., Dembour Marie-Benedicte, Wilson Richard A., Cambridge University Press
Donelly Jack, 1989, Universal human rights in theory and practice, Cornell University Press
Douzinas Costas, 2007, Humans rights and empire. The philosophy of cosmopolitanism, Routledge– Cavendish, USA and Canada 2007
Goodale Mark 2009, Introduction: human rights and anthropology, [in:] Human rights: an anthropological reader, ed. By Mark Goodale, Blackwell Publishing
Jacobson Doranne, Wadley Susan S., 1992, Women in India. Two perspectives, New Delhi, South Asia Books
Krieger Linda, 1999, The burdens of equality: burdens of proof and presumptions in Indian and American civil rights law, The American Journal of Comparative Law, vol. 47, no. 1
Landman Todd, 2006, Studying human rights, Rutledge, London and New York
Mac Kinnon Catharine A., 2006, Sex equality under the constitution of India: problems, prospects and ‘personal laws’, Int’l J Con Law, vol. 4, no 2
Messer Ellen, 1993, Anthropology and Human Rights, Annual Review of Anthropology, 22
Nagengast Carole, Turner Terence, 1997, Introduction: universal human rights versus cultural relativity, Journal of Anthropological Research, vol. 53, no. 3, Universal Human Rights versus Cultural Relativity
Narayan Uma, 1998, Essence of culture and a sense of history: a feminist critique of cultural essentialism, “Hypatia”, 13, 2
Nussbaum Martha C., 2001, India: implementing sex equality through law, Chicago Journal of International Law, 37
Pels Peter, 2008, What has anthropology learned from the anthropology of colonialism?, Social Anthropology, 16, 3
Preamble, the Charter of the United Nations, 1945
SridharanIndhrani, 2000, Practicising human rights: a feminist perspective, [in:] Human rights in India. Historical, social and political perspective, ed. by C. J. Nirmal, Oxford University Press
Statement on Human Rights, 1947, American Anthropological Association, [in:] Human rights: an anthropological reader, ed. by Mark Goodale, Blackwell Publishing, 2009
Turner Terence, 1997, Human rights, human difference: anthropology’s contribution to an emancipatory cultural politics, Journal of Anthropological Research, vol. 53, no. 3, Universal Human Rights versus Cultural Relativity
Zechenter Elizabeth M., 1997, In the name of culture: cultural relativism and the abuse of the individual, Journal of Anthropological Research, vol. 53, no. 3, Universal Human Rights versus Cultural Relativity
Constitution of India, 1949
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, 1979
Cowan Jane K., Dembour Marie - Benedicte, Wilson Richard A., 2001, Introduction, [in:] Culture and rights. Anthropological perspectives, ed. by Cowan Jane K., Dembour Marie-Benedicte, Wilson Richard A., Cambridge University Press
Donelly Jack, 1989, Universal human rights in theory and practice, Cornell University Press
Douzinas Costas, 2007, Humans rights and empire. The philosophy of cosmopolitanism, Routledge– Cavendish, USA and Canada 2007
Goodale Mark 2009, Introduction: human rights and anthropology, [in:] Human rights: an anthropological reader, ed. By Mark Goodale, Blackwell Publishing
Jacobson Doranne, Wadley Susan S., 1992, Women in India. Two perspectives, New Delhi, South Asia Books
Krieger Linda, 1999, The burdens of equality: burdens of proof and presumptions in Indian and American civil rights law, The American Journal of Comparative Law, vol. 47, no. 1
Landman Todd, 2006, Studying human rights, Rutledge, London and New York
Mac Kinnon Catharine A., 2006, Sex equality under the constitution of India: problems, prospects and ‘personal laws’, Int’l J Con Law, vol. 4, no 2
Messer Ellen, 1993, Anthropology and Human Rights, Annual Review of Anthropology, 22
Nagengast Carole, Turner Terence, 1997, Introduction: universal human rights versus cultural relativity, Journal of Anthropological Research, vol. 53, no. 3, Universal Human Rights versus Cultural Relativity
Narayan Uma, 1998, Essence of culture and a sense of history: a feminist critique of cultural essentialism, “Hypatia”, 13, 2
Nussbaum Martha C., 2001, India: implementing sex equality through law, Chicago Journal of International Law, 37
Pels Peter, 2008, What has anthropology learned from the anthropology of colonialism?, Social Anthropology, 16, 3
Preamble, the Charter of the United Nations, 1945
SridharanIndhrani, 2000, Practicising human rights: a feminist perspective, [in:] Human rights in India. Historical, social and political perspective, ed. by C. J. Nirmal, Oxford University Press
Statement on Human Rights, 1947, American Anthropological Association, [in:] Human rights: an anthropological reader, ed. by Mark Goodale, Blackwell Publishing, 2009
Turner Terence, 1997, Human rights, human difference: anthropology’s contribution to an emancipatory cultural politics, Journal of Anthropological Research, vol. 53, no. 3, Universal Human Rights versus Cultural Relativity
Zechenter Elizabeth M., 1997, In the name of culture: cultural relativism and the abuse of the individual, Journal of Anthropological Research, vol. 53, no. 3, Universal Human Rights versus Cultural Relativity
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Published
2009-01-01
How to Cite
Romanowicz, A. (2009). Universalism, Relativism and a Step Beyond. Equality of Men and Women’s Rights as a Cultural Practice. Ethnologia Polona, 5–16. Retrieved from https://journals.iaepan.pl/ethp/article/view/631
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