Table of contentsThe SouthWomen victimsVoices of womenWomen's rights, like human rights, are standards that aim to ensure a certain standard of living and access to services for all women , regardless of their religion or any other status. They exist as a distinct concept apart from human rights, not because they constitute a different set of rights but because their realization is more complicated than the realization of the same rights relating to men. Since women's rights are a relatively new concept, and in many countries women can only legally exercise their freedoms for a century, women face many challenges when making the same demands as men. men. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”?Get the original essayCultural relativism is one of the most significant threats when it comes to the realization of women's rights in different parts of the world. The concept assumes that there are many different cultures, each with their own set of traditions and each should be judged based on their values. The term is often used in discussions regarding the exercise of women's rights in the Global South (a term referring to countries that are “primarily (…) low-income and often politically or culturally marginalized”). Men representing local communities use it as an argument to defend their harmful practices and discrimination against women, since they present them as an intrinsic part of their cultural identity that cannot be changed. On the other hand, cultural relativism jeopardizes the principle of gender equality in Western societies where women from foreign cultures are seen as victims of those cultures rather than conscious members of their communities. This essay will demonstrate that cultural relativism presents a serious challenge to the realization of women's rights. The work was divided into two parts. The first part will examine the tradition of child marriage in Nigeria as an example of how culture influences the realization of women's rights in the Global South; the second part will analyze the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights regarding the practice of wearing Islamic clothing in educational institutions in Western countries, which will show how the process of adaptation of different cultures in a society can be detrimental in the fight for gender equality. In both cases, the article will study how the cultural relativist approach prevents women and the international community from taking successful action against discrimination against women. The Global South Many countries in the South do not oppose harmful traditions that run counter to international women's rights law. Women are constantly denied their fundamental rights and freedoms, such as liberty and security of person and the right to be free from degrading treatment. Local political leaders refuse to recognize their traditional practices as rights violations; since their customs have a source either in religion or in the history of traditions, they are considered valid and binding. Men present their culture as something sacrosanct and women's inferiority as a natural order. Their story impacts both women's awareness of their position in society and the attitude of Western countries who wish to introduce change in foreign communities. Therefore, this prevents local womenand international organizations to act firmly against discrimination. According to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), in 2017 in Nigeria, 18% of girls before the age of 15 and 44% before the age of 18 were married. Child marriage is a violation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), ratified by Nigeria, which requires the state to ensure free and full consent to marriage. Additionally, this practice can cause additional harm. A young bride must leave school to start working in her husband's house and is often the victim of domestic violence. Early marriage can also lead to teenage pregnancy, putting a young mother's life at risk. Since the majority of women in Nigeria do not have access to health care, maternal mortality rates are very high (917 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, compared to a global average of 211). The man considers this custom as another form of control over women, a means of "preserving the chastity of our youth" and avoiding premarital pregnancies which would dishonor the girl's family. Local communities also recognize it as a natural obligation; a woman is expected to become a wife and mother, therefore, educating her in school is considered a waste of time. Perception of the practice of child marriage may vary depending on the region of the country, but many residents recognize it as a commonly restrictive custom. Cultural relativism presents culture as the most valid entity. This culture is spoken of as if it was imposed on a certain community eons ago by an anonymous force and the reasons behind it are beyond human capacity for comprehension. Everything else can be changed or sacrificed to meet its standards, but never the culture itself. As a result, women feel helpless and do not even think about changing the political order. In Nigeria, little girls rarely oppose the practice of child marriage. Many of them believe that marriage will save them from the burden of working at home and hope for some form of love and support from their future husband. In reality, they are exchanging one form of servitude for another. However, this does not mean that they support the harmful tradition; they simply don't know that their rights are being violated, because cultural relativism keeps them under the assumption that they don't have any at all. Cultural relativism also jeopardizes external actions designed to help women achieve gender equality. On the one hand, Western countries are often discouraged from engaging in the promotion of human rights in the Global South, as they could be accused of ignorance and imposing their values ​​on foreign communities. On the other hand, the power of cultural relativism is underestimated when it comes to international legislation. Nigeria is a party to CEDAW, which requires its parties to take action against gender inequality in their countries. Article 5 of the said convention attempts to meet the challenge posed by cultural relativism; it recognizes the existence of various cultural models that discriminate against women and encourages States to modify them. Many states believe that a simple amendment to the law will make this change possible. However, the CEDAW Committee views change as a progressive process of social education. In Nigeria, there are laws that protect children from early marriage, but people still follow old traditions. The current approach is detrimental to the adequate realization of women's rights, as it allows countries of the South to continue to dowhat they were doing while neglecting the real cause of the problem. A simple amendment to the law will achieve nothing if people always reproduce the same gender models. Women as Victims The cultural relativist approach has different, but always negative, repercussions on the realization of women's rights in Western countries. The question then arises during the process of multicultural accommodation. Although today's society is considered open and international, states often face difficulties when trying to accommodate cultural differences among members of their country. Governments adopt, sometimes unconsciously, a stance of cultural relativism when evaluating foreign practices based on their values ​​and there are many cases where stereotypes and misperceptions of certain cultures prevail over common sense. Such an approach has serious consequences for the rights of women who are often presented as victims of their culture rather than as conscious participants. This discredits their opinion on the issue and promotes an unfair and harmful image of a certain culture. This can be seen in discussions regarding women wearing Islamic clothing in public spaces which, from the Western perspective, is a symbol of women's oppression. In the case of Leyla Şahin v. Turkey, the applicant, who was a fifth-year medical student at Istanbul University and a practicing Muslim, claimed that the new policy prohibiting students from wearing headscarves from entering lecture halls and participating in examinations violated numerous rights guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights, namely freedom of thought, conscience and religion and the right to education. . The judges considered the request admissible but ultimately ruled that there had been no violation of the rights and freedoms indicated. The majority affirmed that the State had acted within a reasonable margin of appreciation in violating the petitioner's rights. The court invoked the principles of secularism and gender equality to justify its decision. They claimed that wearing the Islamic headscarf transmitted a message contrary to the principles of gender equality, tolerance and respect for others since it is a tradition imposed on women by a religion and that the State therefore had the right to act against such a practice. Unfortunately, in this situation, Ms. Şahin was helpless. Although she provided substantial arguments for her case, the court did not consider them. She argued that democratic societies, like Turkey, should embrace pluralism and the freedom to express one's religion instead of censoring it. She also emphasized that although she considered wearing a headscarf a religious obligation, she did not aim to impose such an obligation on other Muslim students; for her, the headscarf was a religious symbol and not a chant promoting gender inequality. In his dissenting opinion, Judge Tulkens expressed a similar view that the Islamic headscarf should not be considered an unambiguous sign. Religious clothing has many meanings for Muslim women. It can be a statement of religious beliefs, but it can also be an expression of ethnic identity or a political act against Islamophobia and a sign of women's independence from stereotypes and their power over opinion. of others. The state's cultural relativist approach takes away this power from women. Another threat from the Western narrative of cultural relativism is the power imbalance between the state, the community, and women. The state which has the power.