Is Multiculturalism Bad for Women - Coursework Example

Is Multiculturalism Bad for Women? Submitted by s: Introduction Forced marriages, FGM, polygamy and the punishing of women for being raped as well as unequal access to health and education for men and women among others are issues and situations that are permissible in some parts of the globe. The demand for multiculturalism and some rights of particular minority groups have an influence on the continuance and spreading of these issues to the liberal democracies. Some struggles exist between people’s commitment and gender equity and the growing need to respect the customs of minority values and faiths. In her book, Susan Okin, who is an eminent feminist, explores these issues in a confrontational, ardent and enlightening manner. Okin begins by developing an argument that the rights of some groups can be endangering to women. She considers the example of the French administration affording numerous male immigrants special permissions to bring more than one wife into the nation regardless of the fact that the laws of the country do not allow polygamy and the wives are bitterly opposed to this practice1. According to Okin, if there is the agreement that women should not be underprivileged based on their sex, the group rights that allow oppressive practices on the basis that they are essential to the minority whose existence could be threated, should not be allowed2. Some opponents do not agree with the position held by Okin on this issue and contend that the views she holds are entrenched in an ethical diversity that has no consideration for cultural dissimilarities. Critics dispute with her focus on gender while others come up with the argument that care should be taken regarding the group rights that can be allowed, but not rejecting the category of group rights in totality. Okin makes her conclusion with a contradiction, clarification, adjustment and extension of her initial position. Thesis statement: The misuse of gender equality in discussions harms the positions of minority women especially in relation to female genital mutilation. Susan Okin’s perspective on whether multiculturalism is oppressive for women Even if a particular practice associated with a specific culture may be perceived as repressive to the people that are not part of that culture or feminists, it is seldom justified to interfere, except for the circumstances where the person may not be able to practice any form of agency, especially small children. Regarding all other cases, any answers to what might be considered as a problem must originate from the people themselves and not from quarters that are not within the culture. People should be able to practice their agency in the cultures that are every so often considered as repressive and each case should be assessed based on its context and not through linking it to the more liberal experiences of the west. Okin’s opinion underscores the significance of a historical awareness concerning reflections on religious rituals and cultural traditions3. The language she uses takes back anyone reading her essay more than a century back when there was no particular focus on female circumcision. Instead, the focus was on the ritual circumcision of male infants like the repulsive practices of marking the bodies of the male children in the Jewish culture that was considered as a clear demonstration of their inborn inhumanity and in Okin’s opinion, the patriarchy continues to conjure the images of the Jewish difference. Okin creates an account of patriarchy that starts with how Isaac was bound as the basis for all additional descriptions of the marginalization of womenfolk. The main emphasis of Okin’s argument is that all the people have the chance to become happy and properly adjusted if they can be able to leave behind their troublesome rituals of dissimilarity4. She makes the dissimilarity between her idea of the typical and oppressive based on her idea of what is a permissible practice such as lack of particular forms of rituals, which result in a reflection of her beliefs and background. She considers some practices as barbarous as the rites involved in developing physical descriptions of dissimilarity. In doing so, she represents those who are involved in ritual practices as they are evidently victims of false perceptions. It is considered that people are not willing to take part in these rites, thus clearly demonstrating that the women willing to engage in them are coerced. Okin comes up with the claim that women are the prime victims of religious practices but the question still remains if women can be spoken of as a single category5. She depicts a woman as a singular, monopolistic group, which makes it difficult to appreciate. The assertions of the Enlightenment construction of “man” as collective classification have been demonstrated to be specious and Okin’s view of the sufferings of women under patriarchal rule of religion is an equivalent, complex issue. The woman must be liberated from the ignorance that is associated with superstition and the claims associated with the Western conservative in terms to speaking on behalf of all the women are similar to those explored in debates within and beyond the meetings highlighting the status of women that was held in Nairobi. In the recent past, the same claims of speaking on behalf of others have reappeared in the discourses concerning ritual circumcision. Numerous women in these cultures have dismissed the debates by American women of color concerning the bodies of women in the African continent in terms of rites of infibulation as a misrepresentation of their independence. Some critics of Okin’s perspective express their opposition to this practice basing their argument on its effect on the sexual pleasure of the women. The observers of new Africa have awareness that the debates concerning ritual mutilation of the African body have been claims of the modernizing forces regardless of whether the body is of a man or a woman. Undeniably, the wide practices linked to adult male circumcision have faced active opposition by the ANC in South Africa as an indication of the barbarism on ancient tribal rituals to the dismay of the Nelson Mandela who underwent ritual circumcision. Mandela had an appreciation and continued to advocate for ritual circumcision since it was formative in regard to his and his age group’s experiences as Xhosa men. Numerous people in South Africa have awareness that abolishing rituals will not be of any significance in furthering the stated goals in terms of creating an intricate and compound South African identity. If the issues revolve around infection instead of difference, then the solution may be found in introducing antisepsis in similar fashion to the infant male circumcision that took place in the nineteenth century. The more practical solution to the number of fatalities associated with this practice does not seem to lie in abolition, but in making the process more attain more medicalization. It would appear that the movement that paralleled the acculturation of the circumcision of male infants through its medicalization in the nineteenth century could be equated to the claims for medicalization of the female circumcision. However, this kind of movement may consider in seriousness the claims of ritual in its practiced culture. These form of rites and not simply superstition even if they are the subject of hot debates in the religious cultures, the defining rites for one person may be the pointless delusion of another. The main issue with the perceptions associated with Okin is seen in her advocacy for the abolition of other people’s rites while not considering them in her own culture as restricting and distasteful6. According to her view, only the world of rituals possesses this power and the peculiar rites associated with the Anglo-American culture are a norm in her view. The power that has been invested in the Anglo-American systems is not evident to her compared to the power linked with patriarchy in the ritualized belief systems that she does not accept. Non-intrusive actions Culture is not supposed to be considered as an issue that limits the anatomy of an individual but there are arguments that culture, in some instances, silences the voices of its members, but it should not be assumed that being a member of a particular culture results in a controlled anatomy7. The reactions by the liberal states to issues associated with multiculturalism have been founded on the generalization that requires culture to be tantamount with oppression. With an inability to address the problematic issues such as the concealing of female genital cutting as well as forced marriages, the western administrations have enforced absolute prohibitions and additional general restrictions. For instance, in France, wearing veils over the head has been proscribed since some of the women might be forced into doing so, additionally, in Europe, the issue of forced marriages has been linked to overseas marriage founded on the supposition that the groom will originate from the bride’s original country. In an effort to react to this issue, various government s in Europe have increased the minimum age for marriage or have made the minimum age for all the marriages higher. Nonetheless, this may be considered as the wrong approach in dealing with this issue as multiculturalism should not be perceived as an enemy of feminism and the policies of liberal states do not necessarily have to be intrusive in nature. Rather, they should put more emphasis on recognition of the members if every culture while attempting to make sure they are empowered similar to the case of Muslim feminists who reinterpret the traditional texts associated with their religion. Thus, culture is not supposed to be the focus of attacks as an aspect that is oppressive since it merely defines the people who practice it. Similarly, religion is supposed to be ridiculed, as by definition, it is not hierarchical according to Okin’s arguments. In its place, since its meaning is dependent on the interpretations of the active individuals, the objective should be to make the people who are considered as oppressed become empowered. For that reason, the feminists in this case, are required to petition for the empowerment of the female members who belong to the cultures that are associated with practices that are perceived repressive, rather than seeking for more direct actions. Conclusion Since it is difficult for people to detach themselves from their cultural beliefs, they should maintain extreme caution when judging the practices associated with other cultures8. People must remain alert so that they can avoid the misconception of associating a completely different practice with others they are aware of. Individuals should also make sure they avoid analyzing any practices separately from its contexts along with the customs that reinforce it. Altogether, it should never be assumed that women that belong to the cultures, which are seen as repressive cannot access any form of support, as support is necessarily conditional, rather, it is an aspect that is measured at various levels within varying contexts. Reactions to repressive practices are supposed to entail and focus on the people who are actually oppressed while the policies linked to the liberal states should not be of an intrusive nature. To this point, the reactions of the West to the issues that affect multiculturalism comprise of rather uncomfortable policies that consider culture in a holistic manner while disregarding the agencies of the people who exist in them. The reactions of the feminists should involve lobbying for the women to be empowered within their cultures through exist measures or using some form of internal empowerment9. Consequently, the feminists, as promoters of the freedoms of women , have an obligation to reject any restrictions in regard to the autonomy of the women by the multicultural policies as they are more often than not founded on the supposition that being a member of a particular culture in naturally oppressive. The women should be considered as unrestricted, equal and independent people who possess the freedom to live their lives as they deem fit, regardless of whether this is considered ethically permissible or not. This means that the feminists should put more efforts towards making sure that cultural systems and countries treat women as women while avoiding the support of policies that prescribe the best was to live as being a life founded on the traditions and ways associated with the west. Bibliography Abramson, Paul R, and Steven D Pinkerton. Sexual Nature, Sexual Culture. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1995. Carr, Craig L. Liberalism And Pluralism. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010. Okin, Susan Moller, Joshua Cohen, Matthew Howard, and Martha C Nussbaum. Is Multiculturalism Bad For Women?. Princeton: Princeton University Press 2011. Oruka, H. Odera. Practical Philosophy. Nairobi: East African Educational Publishers, 1997. Pateman, Carole, and Charles W Mills. Contract And Domination. Cambridge: Polity, 2007. Read More