In the Name of Culture: Cultural Relativism and the Abuse of the Individual

The modern system of international human rights treaties is based on the concept of universalism which holds that there is an underlying human unity which entitles all individuals, regardless of their cultural or regional antecedents, to certain basic minimal rights, known as human rights. The influence of cultural relativism, multiculturalism, and postmodernism is slowly undermining these ideals. Many agree that universal human rights norms simply do not conform with the extreme diversity of cultural and religious practices found around the world and that universal rights should be modified to conform with local cultural and religious norms. Others question the theoretical validity and intellectual coherence of universalism. This is an important debate, the outcome of which will have practical consequences for millions of people around the world. This article examines the concepts of cultural relativism and universalism, their theoretical strength, their social and ethical usefulness, and their intellectual coherence, especially as they influence international responses to gender-based abuses perpetrated against women and other disenfranchised individuals living in non-Western societies.