Journal Article Review: Cultural Relativist and Feminist Critiques of International Human Rights – Friends or Foes?
Written by: Oonagh Reitman, 1997
This journal article is explaining about the different views in the critiques in the International Human Rights. The writer of this article attempts to explain to the readers to differentiate the understanding of the point of views of two sides, cultural relativist and feminist. Cultural relativist and feminist are actually quite similar but in the way of understanding they have a few differences. The critiques of both cultural relativist and feminist can be said that they are the same however a misunderstanding will may be occurred that can change the perspectives. The writer in the beginning has explained the international human rights critique basic theory. On the side of cultural relativist, they argue that the universal human rights that is gotten ‘by virtue of being human’ (Donnelly in Reitman 1997, 100) is not sensitive to the cultural diversity. They reject the basic theory and they rather believe that the diverse cultures are the source of human rights. On the other hand, on the side of feminist, they rather believe that in the real life the one who holds the human rights are not women but men, and ‘that gender equality, and freedom from discrimination for women, is given a low priority in the international arena’ (Donnelly in Reitman 1997, 100).
This journal attempts to explain to the readers how both cultural