Between Culture and Constitution: Evaluating the Cultural Legitimacy of Human Rights in the African State

Ibhawoh, Bonny

doi:10.1353/hrq.2000.0034

Cited by 78 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…3 Miller (2005), for example, warns of the danger in attempts to fit all sexuality within a rights claim paradigm. incommensurability of the terms 'rights' and 'culture' (Cowan et al 2001; see also Brems 1997;Ibhawoh 2000;Oloka-Onyango and Tamale 1995). It suggests that a ''new path'' may be cleared if we shift our focus from such opposition to that of ''the inherent tensions between an abstract ideal and its implementation in the real world, between principle and practice'' (Cowan et al 2001, p. 8).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The right to culture and the culture of rights: a critical perspective on women’s sexual rights in Africa

Tamale

2008

Fem Leg Stud

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The opposition of 'culture' and 'rights' is not uncommon in feminist legal discourse. This article argues that such an approach is fraught with danger as it creates an extremely restrictive framework within which African women can challenge domination; it limits our strategic interventions for transforming society and essentially plays into the hands of those seeking to perpetuate and solidify the existing structures of patriarchy. Drawing examples from a parallel research on Gender, Law and Sexuality, I propose that a more critical and interpretative approach to these two concepts may present a different perspective to portrayals of 'tradition' as constraining and/or fixed often displayed in mainstream feminist legal thinking.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The right to culture and the culture of rights: a critical perspective on women’s sexual rights in Africa

Tamale

2008

Fem Leg Stud

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“…The issue is to employ culture as a complement rather than a constraint upon human rights aspirations. 19 'To be effective those at the grassroots must accept and embrace the human rights norms in question "as theirs". They must be culturally legitimate.…”

Section: Universalism Versus Relativismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Beyond European Union enlargement: Albania and human rights in the realm of everyday life

Passini¹

2011

The International Journal of Human Rights

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“…The impact of capitalism and the HIV/AIDS crisis in southern Africa, which has decimated families and indeed reconfigured family structure, calls into question the extent to which it can be said African societies remain communal. 53 Although the cases discussed above show that there are a few women willing to challenge patriarchal laws and attitudes, this should not blind us to the social and personal cost to the women involved. This is particularly true for most women whose entire lives are shaped by their familial relationships.…”

Section: Case Law On Inheritancementioning

confidence: 99%

Women, Law and Human Rights in Southern Africa

Banda¹

2006

Journal of Southern African Studies

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Journal of Southern African Studies Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information:This article examines the development of human rights in the Southern African Development Community (SADC). 1 It looks at personal laws and the attempts of parties in postcolonial states to deal with conflicts that arise between the dictates of state customary law, which may be discriminatory towards women, and the move towards embracing human rights with their focus on the removal of sex and gender-based discrimination. While it is clear that there has been enormous progress made in enshrining women's rights, the article urges caution, noting that there are limits to the law's power to change behaviour. Law cannot always provide a solution to discrimination rooted in socio-economic and cultural dispossession. The article is divided into four parts. Part one introduces the legal systems of the region. Part two offers a discussion of the different constitutional models illustrated by case law relating to inheritance. Part three provides an overview of the African engagement with human rights before moving on to consider the two Declarations of the SADC in dealing with gender-based discrimination and violence against women. 2

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Between Culture and Constitution: Evaluating the Cultural Legitimacy of Human Rights in the African State

Cited by 78 publications

References 19 publications

The right to culture and the culture of rights: a critical perspective on women’s sexual rights in Africa

The right to culture and the culture of rights: a critical perspective on women’s sexual rights in Africa

Beyond European Union enlargement: Albania and human rights in the realm of everyday life

Women, Law and Human Rights in Southern Africa

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