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Human rights of daughters-in-law (kelins) in Central Asia: Harmful traditional practices and structural oppression
Abstract
The familial position and social status of daughters-in-law (kelins) in ‘traditional’ Central Asian families can be characterised as low, subservient, and marginalised. This paper, by adopting normative human rights discourse, argues that it is an example of the relativist challenge of cultural authenticity towards the universality of human rights, specifically women’s human rights. The authors, by using the participant observation (which can be qualified also as experiential research), serial in-depth and informal interviews, analysis of posts published in social media, explore the forces driving the persistence of a relativist approach to kelins’ human rights such as retraditionalisation, the revival of conservative Islam, the unawareness about human rights and patterns of authority-subordination. Through a particular conceptual framework, which combines Iris Young’s concept of the ‘five faces of oppression’ and the notion of ‘harmful traditional practices’, elaborated by international human rights documents, this article conceptualises the family position and social status of the kelins as structural oppression or systemic injustice, created and legitimised by informal, harmful traditional norms and practices.
... In general, however, young married women, expected to live with their husbands' families according to customary law, often experience a violation of their rights, abuse and enduring exploitation. Such situations are reported to be widespread in Kyrgyzstan and neighbouring Central Asian countries (Turaeva 2020;Zhussipbek and Nagayeva 2021). ...
... Kudaibergenova (2018), studying the position of kelins in neighbouring Kazakh society, claims that nowadays the position of a kelin centres on obedience and selflessness, which is applicable to all Central Asian countries. As argued by Zhussipbek and Nagayeva (2021), the position of a kelin can be described through the theory of five faces of oppression by Young (1990), which specified exploitation, marginalization, powerlessness, cultural imperialism and violence as forms of oppression. Young women as kelins are often exploited to do household work, and are put in a hierarchically dependent position in relation to the dominant mother-in-law and other relatives of her husband. ...
... With regard to gender-based violence, the issue occupies one of the leading positions in Kyrgyzstan. Kyrgyz women are often victims of various forms of abuse, from the more widespread, such as domestic violence (Childress, 2018;Childress et al., 2017) and trafficking in women (The US Department of State, 2021;Zhakypbekova, 2018), to the more traditional, such as early marriage (Margolis, 2016), bride kidnapping (ala-kachuu) (Kleinbach & Salimjanova, 2007) or "kelinism" (new brides' forced into subservience to their mothers-in-law in their husbands' households) (Akisheva, 2021b;Kudaibergenova, 2018;Zhussipbek & Nagayeva, 2020). ...
In 2021, Kyrgyzstan held a referendum, adopting its new Constitution. From the very beginning, the document itself obliquely announces that the state is taking a course towards a “neo-traditionalist” approach, a policy that risks exalting traditions, customs and spirituality above the Law. Some ancestral traditional practices are known to have a negative connotation and remain an obstacle to the rights of Kyrgyz women and girls. Thereby, this chapter focuses on analysis of the new constitutional framework of Kyrgyzstan from a gender perspective, highlighting the threats of the “neo-traditionalist” approach to women’s rights. The first part gives the reader a general introduction to the current situation with gender equality in Kyrgyzstan and its legal regulation, followed by highlighting the role of the OSCE in supporting and developing gender-sensitive legal foundations in the country. The final part analyses the “neo-traditionalist” orientations in the new constitutional framework of Kyrgyzstan and their possible impact on the position and rights of Kyrgyz women and girls.
... In contemporary Central Asia, discourses of shame are commonly used to regulate female behavior by asserting men's control over female mobility and sexuality. Popular narratives, and to some extent, official ones (Nozimova, 2022;Suyarkulova, 2016;Thibault, 2016), denounce self-expression, perceived promiscuous behavior or disrespect for national values and instead emphasize modesty, obedience and respect for tradition (Peshkova, 2021;Zhussipbek & Nagayeva, 2021). Most of the chapters in this volume will reflect the phenomenon of gender regulation, from the taboo of sex education in schools (Kabatova), favored heteronormativity (Levitanus) to the compliance of parents to give their firstborn to adoption to the husband's parents (Kenzhebaeva and Kim) whereas Kabylova's chapter will challenge the assumption that uyat norms are becoming more prevalent. ...
This chapter provides an overview of the conceptualization of shame in Central Asia and its contemporary manifestations in a comparative perspective and summarizes the various chapters of the book.KeywordsShameHonorTraditionCentral AsiaPatriarchyKinship
... Second, this paper will significantly enhance our understanding of the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on gender inequality by considering the patriarchal structure of Kazakhstani society (Zhussipbek and Nagayeva, 2021). The patriarchal system limits women from paid work opportunities, widening the gap between men and women in paid work. ...
This study provides empirical evidence on the relationship between COVID-19 pandemic and work outcomes of men and women in the case of Central Asia, region with under-established formal institutions, relatively poor social infrastructure, and mostly patriarchal society. These features of Central Asian countries make them different from other developed countries that vast majority of existing literature on COVID-19 pandemic and work outcomes nexus focus on. Findings suggest that medium-term employment level is strongly dependent upon short-term work productivity, with the latter being highly dependent on several explanatory variables, including gender. Further analysis reveal that women-mothers and women working from home-office tend to have lower work productivity as short-term effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, which in turn negatively influences women’s medium-term employment level. The paper sheds light on gender-disaggregated situation in the labor market of the country and provides empirical recommendations for decision makers at both government and business levels.
... Regarding interpersonal violence, Central Asia had the highest perceptions of the justifiability of IPV toward wife. Recent literature argues that these perceptions may be due to marginalized women's rights in both familial position and social status in "traditional" Central Asian families (Zhussipbek and Nagayeva, 2021), which may be influenced by indigenous religion and the patriarchal culture of Central Asia (Urbaeva, 2019). Perceptions about the justifiability of child abuse were most prevalent in Southeast and East Asia. ...
Violence is increasing in Asia. However, limited research exists on the prevalence and types of violence across Asian regions and countries; a comprehensive study on a continental-scale in Asia has been understudied. Guided by the World Health Organization’s definition of violence, this study used World Values Survey Wave 7 ( n = 35,435) to map the perceptions of the justifiability of three categories of violence (self-inflicted, interpersonal, collective) with five subtypes (suicide, intimate partner violence against wife, child abuse, violence toward other people, political violence) in six regions and 24 countries in Asia. Findings indicate that perceptions of the justifiability of violence are significantly different across regions in Asia. Perceptions of the justifiability of various types of violence differed across Asian countries. Considering the complexity and diversity of violence across Asian regions and countries, this study may be a cornerstone for violence research in Asia.
Kazakh traditional wisdom says “Kaytyp kelgen kyz zhaman” - a girl who returns to her parental home after marriage is a disgrace to the family. According to a women’s rights organization, up to 5,000 bride kidnapping acts occur annually in contemporary Kazakhstan. The authors would like to approach this socio-cultural phenomenon through considering the current situation of women and their rights in Kazakhstan. The article examines how outdated traditions and customs violate women’s’ personal boundaries and rights in Kazakhstan. Its main purpose is to attract the attention of the reader and potential researcher and to familiarize them with the topic (a specific form of violence against women), research methods, and research challenges. Until September 2019, there was no special legislation in Kazakhstan aimed at combating domestic violence. However, with the adoption of the Law “On the Prevention of Domestic Violence and the Protection of Victims of Domestic Violence” in September 2019, Kazakhstan introduced institutional measures to prevent and punish domestic violence. Nevertheless, people continue to follow their traditional customs, rather than live in accordance with new legislation.
Reema's character in Unfettered Wings depicts a journey of female subordination. Simon de Beauvoir's phenomena of altruism and defloration becomes prominent and recurring themes of the story that further shed light on the sorry state of Reema's subjugation as Other in the patriarchal society. Female subordination can be clearly seen through the character of Reema and her mother. Simon explains in her theory that there is a relationship between ovum and sperm in various creatures like fish, insects and mammals etc and she describes women's subordination to species in term of reproduction. The story is about the past of a woman named Reema who is in a state of nostalgia. She is memorizing the past time of her life as now she is 80 years old and lying on a hospital bed suffering from Alzheimer's disease. It was the impact of this subordination that Reema at the age of eighty after having daughters and granddaughters cannot forget that critical phase of her life and it left permanent impressions on her life. It was due to all this that she was still feeling guilty from her husband that he was so loving with her but he was unknown of the fact that what happened to her past. From her character analysis we came to know clearly that women face oppression and power of patriarchy as they are not able to speak anything against men. From this story it is analyzed that Reema was not able to speak for two reasons , firstly she was not telling the truth because it was about her uncle and she was horrified that if he will kill her or he will do something more bad than this to her. Secondly she was keeping it as a secret for saving her next life which was married life as she never disclosed it to her husband. From this story, it is analyzed that Reema under enormous patriarchal pressure becomes speechless. She did not disclose, it was a matter of reputation for her family which was purely altruistic on her part. She also did not want to hurt the pride of her husband and spend so many years in silence by tormenting her own soul and going through mental agony. Defloration becomes a constant disturbing factor for Reema that pinches her throughout her life but she behaves altruistically in order to uphold the patriarchal system. These things distinguish between the concept of masculanity and feminity. Women need to be more careful of their self because society demands a proof of their chastity. Men are more independent because they don't have to give any proof in this way. Because of these restrictions a woman is not able to speak in front of anyone for her humiliation. She sacrificed her whole life that becomes a metaphor of subordination .Reema's sexual abuse was kept as a secret by her mother also who never disclose it to anyone because she was well aware of the fact that in that society of male domination if someone came to know about her rape no one will marry her daughter and she will remain as a curse in the society as females are always subordinated in the society. In this act of Reem's mother we can see the element of subordination as well as altruism.
Two phenomena have characterised the period of independence in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan: conservative re-traditionalisation, which is understood as a ‘return to the roots’; and a painful period of neoliberal reforms and the emergence of local adaptations of neoliberal capitalism. The aim of this chapter is to show the negative impact of these two phenomena on women’s rights, arguing that conservative re-traditionalisation and neoliberal capitalism appear to be mutually supportive, particularly in their creation of an environment for the oppression of women. The negative outcomes of radical neoliberal reforms have not only dramatically increased women’s vulnerability but also laid the grounds for legitimizing conservative re-traditionalisation. Many factors, such as the thinning of social policies, the emergence of consumerist culture and ‘sexualized strategies’, have placed women at the centre of discussions about national identity, culture and values. It is argued that re-traditionalisation can also be seen as a reaction and backlash against the traumatic experiences of the transition period of neoliberalisation. This chapter examines the features of neoliberal capitalism in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan that pose challenges to women’s well-being and rights. It posits that an interaction between re-traditionalisation and neoliberalism hinders the development of women’s rights, such as through the reappearance of polygamy. Overall, radical neoliberal reforms and the emergence of local models of neoliberal capitalism have prevented Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan from creating a system based on social democracy. The consequences are the intersectional oppression of women and slow development of women’s rights.
Online social support, with its novel opportunities for coping, is especially important for those experiencing isolation. Daughters-in-law in Azerbaijan are isolated and have inadequate support due to patriarchal and patrilocal norms, amplified when they experience infertility. This study considers an online community where supportive communication and resources are exchanged to mitigate infertility isolation. Using virtual ethnography and thematic analysis, three research questions related to different types of isolation are explored. We find support exchanges in this community can likely help women more efficiently and effectively cope with, and have more control over, the immediate stressor of infertility and associated uncertainty, which is profound given the lack of supportive resources they would otherwise have.
More than mere shame or disgrace, the cultural code of uyat refers to a whole system of values and symbolises a long tradition of acceptable moral-ethical conduct in society. Adherence can build one’s positive reputation and approval on the part of others. At the same time, uyat is a powerful tool used by traditionalists and moralists to condemn what they see as “abnormality”. Kazakhstan is becoming part of the globalised and digitalised world, where conservative values and norms are going through a transformation and society, especially young people, are redefining the uyat culture. This chapter aims to examine how important the uyat cultural code is for people’s decision-making in Kazakhstan in the context of the ongoing detraditionalisation and individualisation processes. A mixed method approach has been applied. Overall, 607 participants from across Kazakhstan have taken part in an anonymous online survey and the data has been analysed by a thematic research analysis method. The primary data derived from the survey supports the main argument of this chapter that the uyat cultural code’s influence on people’s decision-making process or de-shaming in Kazakhstan is waning as a result of ongoing detraditionalisation and individualisation processes in the country. The majority of people who participated in the survey chose answers that prioritise individual choice over community interests and demonstrate independence from public opinion and a willingness to go against social norms and traditions in cases of risks to one’s safety and well-being.KeywordsDetraditionalizationIndividualizationKazakhstanShame cultureUyat
This paper analyses how secondary school textbooks enact gender in post-Soviet Kazakhstan. As a ‘gender paradox’, with universal literacy and yet a higher representation of women at the tertiary level co-existing with multi-sectoral gaps at the expense of women, Kazakhstan offers an interesting context to empirically investigate the taken for granted relationship between education, gender equality and sustainable development. Poststructuralist discursive analysis is complemented with non-discursive methods to illuminate how textbooks entrench gender power relations, construct dominant masculinities and enact emphasised femininities, producing gender hierarchies and naturalising gendered national belonging. Possibilities for transforming gender relations in and through education are discussed.
The chapter delves into the intricate social role of the "kelin" in Uzbekistan, a newlywed bride who moves into her husband's family home. Despite traditionally being seen as the family's pride, kelins paradoxically occupy one of the lowest social statuses within both their families and communities. Drawing on the concept of "liminality," which signifies a transitional phase, the text explores how young girls become kelins, transitioning from girlhood to full-fledged members of their new families. A central focus is on the preparation of young women for this crucial role, with an emphasis on the role of bride schools. These institutions aim to equip girls with essential skills like cooking, housekeeping, cultural knowledge, and adherence to Islamic principles. These skills are considered vital for their roles as kelins and, eventually, as mothers-in-law.
Western focus on ‘Islamic feminism’ takes two extreme forms: it is often dismissed as an oxymoron for attaching a religious (patriarchal) adjective to an emancipatory feminist project, or it is hailed as a road to a liberal, reformed Islam. Many Muslim feminists refuse to use this term; some reject feminism outright. There is consequently a tension within the term that many Muslim women activists acknowledge. In order to gain a better understanding of how religious and secular discourses combine in ‘feminism in Islam’, this text aims to examine the place of religion in women’s emancipatory strategies.
When we look at the history, strategies, discourses, and especially at the concept of ‘religion’ Muslim women activists and thinkers deal with, a complex landscape emerges. ‘Islam’ ceases to be a reference to a given religious paradigm but becomes itself a contested terrain, one with religious, but also political, legal, and institutional actors. Theological, hermeneutical, post-foundationalist, reformist, legal, and social activism all envisage ‘Islam’ from different perspectives and locate the discriminatory aspects they resist in different fields of the Islamic paradigm or practice. The aim is to explore the meaning and practice of ‘feminism in Islam’ while taking a critical approach to an essentialist understanding of both Islam and Islamic feminism.
Over the last two centuries, ‘tradition’1 has been invoked in Central Asia by Russian and Soviet regimes, as well as by local Central Asian elites, largely in two ways: either as a deficiency to be overcome (often in juxtaposition to an aspirational ‘modernity’) or as a quality to be embraced (often in alignment with nationalism). The two are not mutually exclusive or even strictly separate, but the distinction serves well to outline general themes and dynamics in the work of tradition. It is likewise difficult to make clear distinctions between academic analyses and everyday invocations of the term, as they play off one another, and entirely new genres of writing and practice are still emerging. The centrality of tradition in today’s Central Asia cannot, however, be denied.
What are ethnic boundaries made of? How do people come to experience such boundaries? Notwithstanding the formidable analytic attention to the role and effects of boundary drawing in social life, such questions are rarely asked. We look at the apparently stable boundary between Russians and Kyrgyz villagers in the Issyk-Kul region to trace how its dimensions were naturalized through settler colonialism, Soviet modernization, and post-socialist upheaval. But even if naturalized, the boundary behaves as a ‘presence absence’ whose relevance fluctuates and whose momentary features remain unpredictable, as we demonstrate by focusing on transgressive mixed marriages between Russian and Kyrgyz villagers.
This article describes an Uzbek culture of politeness that is being actively promoted in Uzbek society and through which the state can claim a moral superiority in the region and dissociate itself from the Soviet past. As an added advantage, the preservation of this cultural tradition fosters a social order in which submission to authority is an essential moral value. Contemporary role models are created by raising awareness of the lives of individuals of exceptional integrity from the past. The article is focused on one aspect of this cultural tradition: the relationship between ustoz (master) and shogird (apprentice), which has considerable influence on the structure of the professional branches as well as the work processes within them and is of special relevance in the state service.
With the proliferation of transnational Muslim networks over the last two decades, the religious authority of traditionally educated Muslim scholars, the uluma, has come under increasing scrutiny and disruption. These networks have provided a public space for multiple perspectives on Islam to be voiced, allowing “progressive” Islamic worldviews to flourish alongside more (neo)traditional outlooks. This book brings together the scholarship of leading progressive Muslim scholars, incorporating issues pertaining to politics, jurisprudence, ethics, theology, epistemology, gender and hermeneutics in the Islamic tradition. It provides a comprehensive discussion of the normative imperatives behind a progressive Muslim thought, as well as outlining its various values and aims. Presenting this emerging and distinctive school of Islamic thought in an engaging and scholarly manner, this is essential reading for any academic interested in contemporary religious thought and the development of modern Islam.
Different authors such as Charles Beitz and Joseph Raz argue against what they call 'the traditional view' of human rights: the view that there are universal human rights based on essential features of human beings. Human rights, they think, are rights with a certain political function, namely to limit the sovereignty of states. In his paper "Human Rights without Foundations" Joseph Raz calls this "the political conception of human rights" (Raz 2010, 328). The political conception is, Raz argues, closer to contemporary human rights practice than the traditional views. According to Raz, the traditional views provide us with conceptions of human rights that are so remote from the current practice of human rights "as to be irrelevant to it" (ibid., 323). This, Raz thinks, speaks against the traditional view or what might also be called the moral view of human rights and in favor of the political view. My paper will deal in the first part with this political conception of human rights; I will argue that we should not accept this view for different reasons: it does not pass the adequacy test it sets out for a satisfactory theory of human rights, and it does not provide us with the justification of human rights that we need. I will then, in the second part of the paper, try to show how the traditional or moral view of human rights could be defended.
In a shift away from normative scholarship on the status or role of women in Islam, the nineties found Muslim women analysing gender and sex equality in Islam along lines historically associated with feminist inquiry; they implicated the patriarchal norms of early Muslim societies and contemporary Muslim practice in the global decline of Muslim women’s rights. In some arenas this discursive shift came to be theorised as “Islamic feminism” prompting a rich and varied response that reveals the multiple meanings that this convergence holds for Islam and feminism, two intellectual paradigms that impact the lives of Muslim women. To survey responses to the convergence of Islam and feminism, this essay outlines and evaluates various attempts at constructing and deconstructing Islamic feminism as a site of analysis and practice applicable to the lives of Muslim women. Without contesting the value of feminist thought in the struggles of Muslim women, this essay critiques the easy conflation or inflation of the convergence of Islam and feminism as “Islamic feminism” and preferences a carefully articulated and tentative convergence of the two intellectual traditions. It points to the benefits of a convergence that maintains a critical distance between the two traditions even as it recognises that Islam and feminism hold the potential to advance Muslim women’s struggles for equality. This approach potentially allows difference to endure even as barriers between the two intellectual traditions are broken down.
It is often said that we live in global systems of injustice. But if so, what are they, and what are their moral consequences? This book offers a theory of global injustice—“Unfreedom for All.” The theory explores and defends the old adage that “No one is free while others are oppressed” by putting five questions: Why and when ought we to combat injustices done to distant others, and does this require joining in solidarity against them? Do we live under global systems of injustice? What counts as systematic injustice or oppression? Who if anyone is made unfree by such injustices? What harms do they do? Unfreedom for All shows that the “No one is free” creed either answers or results from each of these questions. It defends that creed by considering how systematic injustices—such as global severe poverty, male supremacy, or racial oppression—are perpetuated. The book argues that where your society does such an injustice, it systematically suppresses anyone’s resistance to the injustice—including yours. It uses authoritarian tactics against everyone, so you too are subject to arbitrary power. Hence you too are unfree. This holds just as true of systematic injustices done by global society, and this should be the main reason for joining in solidarity against injustice.
This book argues that human rights cannot go global without going local. This important lesson from the winding debates on universalism and particularism raises intricate questions: what are human rights after all, given the dissent surrounding their foundations, content, and scope? What are legitimate deviances from classical human rights (law) and where should we draw “red lines”?
Making a case for balancing conceptual openness and distinctness, this book addresses the key human rights issues of our time and opens up novel spaces for deliberation. It engages philosophical reasoning with law, politics, and religion and demonstrates that a meaningful relativist account of human rights is not only possible, but a sorely needed antidote to dogmatism and polarization.
Marie-Luisa Frick, born 1983 in Lienz in Austria, works as Associate Professor at the Department of Philosophy at the University of Innsbruck, Austria. She has published extensively on human rights, legal, and moral philosophy. A visiting fellow at the Human Rights Program at Harvard Law School, USA, in 2016, she is also engaged in cultural diplomacy and upon invitation of the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has contributed to bilateral religious dialogues with Indonesia, Iran, and China.
The main focus of this paper is to propose a research agenda for human rights scholars which may lead to a genuine universal notion of human rights. A brief survey of three dichotomies that characterise the human rights field is followed by a probing of the presuppositions, in particular communalism, embedded in the Western notion of individual civil and political rights and the sphere of personal autonomy in communal cultures. Such an investigation, in conjunction with a cross-cultural dialogue and massive socioeconomic changes, can lead to a reconstructed formulation of human rights which integrates elements from the diverse notions extant today. This in turn can facilitate accountability of all States to an agreed upon doctrine of human rights.
The concept of human rights remains a challenging concept and some of its aspects have yet to be further explored. As James Griffin notes in the introduction to his book, On Human Rights, there is a common “belief that we do not yet have a clear enough idea of what human rights are.” In a similar vein, Michael Rosen observes that “Human rights are obviously deeply puzzling— almost everyone nowadays professes commitment to them, yet few people would claim that they had a good, principled account of what they are and why we have them.” Following this same line of thought, Charles Beitz writes, “the problem is that, although the idea and the language of human rights have become increasingly prominent in public discourse, it has not become any more clear what kinds of objects human rights are supposed to be, why we should believe that people have them, or what follows from this belief for political practice.”
In this book I argue for an approach that conceives human rights as both moral and legal rights. The merit of such an approach is its capacity to understand human rights more in terms of the kind of world free and reasonable beings would like to live in rather than simply in terms of what each individual is legally entitled to. While I acknowledge that every human being has the moral entitlement to be granted living conditions that are conducive to a dignified life, I maintain, at the same time, that the moral and legal aspects of human rights are complementary and should be given equal weight. The legal aspect compensates for the limitations of moral human rights the observance of which depends on the conscience of the individual, and the moral aspect tempers the mechanical and inhumane application of the law.
Unlike the traditional or orthodox approach, which conceives human rights as rights that individuals have by virtue of their humanity, and the political or practical approach, which understands human rights as legal rights that are meant to limit the sovereignty of the state, the moral-legal approach reconciles law and morality in human rights discourse and underlines the importance of a legal framework that compensates for the deficiencies in the implementation of moral human rights. It not only challenges the exclusively negative approach to fundamental liberties but also emphasizes the necessity of an enforcement mechanism that helps those who are not morally motivated to refrain from violating the rights of others. Without the legal mechanism of enforcement, the understanding of human rights would be reduced to simply framing moral claims against injustices.
From the moral-legal approach, the protection of human rights is understood as a common and shared responsibility. Such a responsibility goes beyond the boundaries of nation-states and requires the establishment of a cosmopolitan human rights regime based on the conviction that all human beings are members of a community of fate and that they share common values which transcend the limits of their individual states. In a cosmopolitan human rights regime, people are protected as persons and not as citizens of a particular state.
Even though political philosophy has a long tradition, it is much more than the study of old and great treatises. Contemporary philosophers continue to press new arguments on old and timeless questions, but also to propose departures and innovations. The field changes over time, and new work inevitably responds both to events in the world and to the directions of thought itself. This volume includes twenty-two new pieces by leaders in the field on both perennial and emerging topics of keen interest to contemporary political philosophers. In addition to longstanding issues such as authority, equality, freedom, and democracy, there are articles on less classical topics such as race, historical injustice, deliberation, money and politics, global justice, and ideal and non-ideal theory. The introductory article briefly situates this snapshot in a broader view of developments in political philosophy in the last forty years, and looks forward to future developments. The articles not only survey but provide provocations to think further about the questions, puzzles, and practical problems that animate recent work in political philosophy.
This article shows that one should start social science inquiry with individuals, their motivations, and the kinds of transactions they undertake with one another. It specifically discusses four basic schools of social theory: conflict, shared-values, exchange, and coordination theories. Conflict theories almost inherently lead into normative discussions of the justification of coercion in varied political contexts. Religious visions of social order are usually shared-value theories and interest is the chief means used by religions to guide people. Individualism is at the core of an exchange theory. Because the first three theories are generally in conflict in any moderately large society, coercion is a sine qua non for social order. Coordination interactions are especially important for politics and political theory and probably for sociology, although exchange relations might be most of economics, or at least of classical economics. Shared-value theory may possibly turn into the most commonly asserted alternative to rational choice in this time as contractarian reasoning recedes from center stage in the face of challenges to the story of contracting that lies behind it and the difficulty of believing people actually think they have consciously agreed to their political order.
Whether Islam is compatible with human rights in general, and with the Declaration of Human Rights in particular, has been both a Muslim issue and a concern of the international community. Muslim rulers, Western analysts and policymakers, and Muslim extremists as well as conservative Muslims, have often agreed for diverse reasons that Islam and human rights cannot co-exist. This book argues for the essential compatibility of Islam and human rights. It offers a critique of leading Western experts who ignore or marginalize the relationship of religion to human rights. At the same time, the book re-examines the inherited tradition that forms the basis of conservative Muslim objections, arguing that it is culturally conditioned and therefore open to development and change. Finally, and most importantly, the book delineates a fresh contemporary Muslim position that argues for a correspondence between Islam and secular concepts of human rights, grounded in sacred sources as well as Islamic history and thought.
The literature on social justice, and social justice movements themselves, routinely ignore nonhuman animals as legitimate subjects of social justice. Yet, as with other social justice movements, the contemporary animal liberation movement has as its focus the elimination of institutional and systemic domination and oppression. In this paper, I explicate the philosophical and theoretical foundations of the contemporary animal rights movement, and situate it within the framework of social justice. I argue that those committed to social justice – to minimizing violence, exploitation, domination, objectification, and oppression – are equally obligated to consider the interests of all sentient beings, not only those of human beings.
Are the principles set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights truly universal? Or, as some have argued, are they derived exclusively from Western philosophic traditions and therefore irrelevant to many non-Western cultures? Should a state's claims to indigenous traditions, and not international covenants, determine the scope of rights granted to its citizens? In his strong defense of the Declaration, Reza Afshari contends that the moral vision embodied in this and other agreements is a proper response to the abuses of the modern state. Asserting that the most serious violations of human rights by state rulers are motivated by political and economic factors rather than the purported concern for cultural authenticity, Afshari examines one particular state that has claimed cultural exception to the universality of human rights, the Islamic Republic of Iran. In his revealing case study, Afshari investigates how Islamic culture and Iranian politics since the fall of the Shah have affected human rights policy in that state. He exposes the human rights violations committed by ruling clerics in Iran since the Revolution, showing that Iran has behaved remarkably like other authoritarian governments in its human rights abuses. For more than two decades, Iran has systematically jailed, tortured, and executed dissidents without due process of law and assassinated political opponents outside state borders. Furthermore, like other oppressive states, Iran has regularly denied and countered the charges made by United Nations human rights monitors, defending its acts as authentic cultural practices. Throughout his study, Afshari addresses Iran's claims of cultural relativism, a controversial thesis in the intense ongoing debate over the universality of human rights. In prison memoirs he uncovers the actual human rights abuses committed by the Islamic Republic and the sociopolitical conditions that cause or permit them. Finally, Afshari turns to little-read UN reports that reveal that the dynamics of power between UN human rights monitors and Iranian leaders have proven ineffective at enforcing human rights policy in Iran. Critically analyzing the state's responses, Afshari shows that the Islamic Republic, like other oppressive states, has regularly denied and countered the charges made by UN human rights monitors, and when denials were patently implausible, it defended its acts as authentic cultural practices. This defense is equally unconvincing, since it lacked domestic cultural consensus. Copyright
Migration processes in Kyrgyzstan have given rise to fundamental social and demographic changes, meaning that many villages and town quarters are inhabited nowadays solely by women, children and the elderly, whereas younger and middle-aged men live as migrants elsewhere. This article explores the role of women in the maintenance of a strong patrilineal descent system, in the absence of their husbands or sons. This is achieved by grandmothers who play a significant role in transmitting oral genealogies and passing stories on to their children. Another role of women lies in changing the names of male relatives of their husbands; while appointing whom one should marry is also of great importance. The role of mothers-in-law in the formation of their sons' marriage ties in the latter's absence points to the powerful positions of these women. The final point is that young brides continue to live with their parents-in-law – even if their husband does not – and they must be respectful brides.
Abstract This paper starts with a critique of Gubaand Lincoln's (1994) outline of competing paradigms for research, in particular arguing that the constructivist position fails to account for experiential knowing. The arguments for a participatory worldview,are articulated based on a subjective-objective ontology; an extended epistemology of experiential, presentational, propositional and practical ways of knowing; a methodology,based on co-operative relations between co-researchers; and an axiology which affirms the primary value of practical knowing,in the service of human flourishing. Authors' note The authors wish to thank Yvonna Lincoln and the anonymous,QI reviewer for their
The case study is one of the major research strategies in contemporary social science. Although most discussions of case study research presume that cases contribute to explanatory theory, this article draws from recent literature about ethical reasoning to argue that case studies can also contribute to normative theory - to theories about the ideals we should pursue and the obligations we should accept. This conclusion suggests that contrary to some views ( notably Max Weber's) social science has a vital role to play in the prescriptive study of values, particularly so-called "thick ethical concepts" like "leadership," " courage," and " neighborhood vitality.".
La presente obra es una introducción a la complejidad del concepto de los derecho humanos. Freeman enfatiza las experiencias de víctimas de violación de los derechos humanos y su relación con los acercamientos legales, filosóficos y sociales al tema. Analiza la tensión que existe entre la filosofía de los derechos humanos y la manera en que las ciencias sociales entienden el concepto para luego abordar temas controversiales tales como si existen derechos humanos colectivos o si la idea de los derechos humanos distrae nuestra atención de las causas estructurales de la opresión y explotación, entre otros temas.
Since female genital mutilation (FGM) was first recognized internationally in 1958, it has now become widely accepted and anchored in international law that FGM is a violation of girls' and women's human rights. Declines in the practice, however, are slow overall, and continued work for its elimination requires action and investment at many levels. Where the practice has diminished, community action has been widespread and sustained. Governments, who are ultimately responsible for the eradication of FGM, must take many measures to outlaw the practice and protect girls' and women's rights, through legislation, policy, education, and resource allocation. Among the other key actors, health care professionals have a particularly important role in treating women and in preventing FGM by actively opposing any medicalization of the practice.
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