Kalin Pham
UNST Human/Nature
Professor Tom Luckett
April 30, 2014
Cultural values over human rights
Universal human rights defend people’s rights in countries around the world with the
belief that the basic values and principles of human rights are of a universal nature. These values
and principles include the basic rights and freedoms for every individual. International human
rights laws include conventions on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women
and the protocol of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women
in Africa. A better understanding of the traditional values of humankind can contribute to the
protection of human rights. Even though the text states that “traditions shall not be invoked to
justify practices contrary to human dignity and that violate international human right laws.”
Some regions, such as Africa and many other developed countries do not follow it fully. In such
environments, “values” trample over human rights when it should be the rights that come before
the values. In this paper, arguments and examples will be pulled from the context of Africa,
China and Iran (Reid 21).
Traditional values can be a tool that curtails human rights, especially for women. Human
rights as exercised by an individual do have an impact on cultural values. For example Human
Right Watch has shown that such “values” are sometimes used to force marriages in Southern
Sudan. Almost half of all Southern Sudanese women and girls between the age of 15 and 19 are
married, often to much older men, some as young as twelve. The decision to marry is not made
by the girl in question but by the girl’s family and clan. There is a long cultural heritage of girls
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marrying very young, and a young girl’s value is only measured by the traditional payment of
dowries. Many people living in Southern Sudan’s pastoral and agricultural communities live in
extreme poverty and a dowry is seen as a quick way of improving a man’s economic status
(Human Rights Watch World Report 2014, 55).
In societies such as this, girls have no choice when it comes to marriage. They cannot
count on their families for protection from their abusive husbands and the government does
nothing to protect their rights. Individuals who resist the marriage will be seen as showing a
flagrant disrespect for their elders and their family, and sometimes they may even be threatened
and beaten (Human Rights Watch World Report, 176). This practice takes away the very essence
of a girls’ childhood and it is against the very dignity of a human being. In such situations, both
human rights and cultural conflicts come together and are at play in one situation. Child marriage
is part of the traditions of many communities in South Sudan; one can also say that claiming
right goes against the norms of this portion of Africa’s Society because such rights often go
against “cultural values” which are sometimes used to justify child marriage. It conflicts with
human rights because young girls aren’t given the choice to make any sort of decision for
themselves. The only choice they have is to hand over all their natural rights for the sake of their
family.
There are issues of women and girls facing sexual violence in African countries. Rape is
still not recognized as a criminal offense. Displaced women and girls are vulnerable to rape by
armed men including government soldiers and militia members. One case has shown where a
woman in Somalia reported that she was raped by government soldiers. The woman who
reported rape were being threatened and intimidated by the government agents during the
investigation. The government did not attempt to improve women’s rights and has repeatedly
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failed to protect women from sexual harassment (Human Rights Watch World Report 2014,
164).
According to one passage from Human Rights Watch, “An egregious violation of women
and girls’ human rights, child marriage in South Sudan exacerbates the country’s high levels of
poverty, low levels of liberty, pronounced gender gaps in education, and soaring rates of
maternal mortality” (Human Rights Watch World Report, 55). Looking at these statistics is
seems as if quite often traditional values can end up violating women’s rights. Furthermore,
traditional culture in this case is not a substitute for human rights. In accordance with
international law, no right can be used at expense or destruction of another (Reid 21). This means
that cultural rights cannot be interpreted in such a way as to justify act leading to denial or
violation of other human’s rights and freedoms.
There are various cultural practices that violate human rights in countries such as China.
One example is that the government in China enforced rules which stated that Chinese couples
can only be allowed to have two children to try to curb China’s extreme population growth.
Punitive measures such as fines and forced abortion were applied by the government if the
people did not follow the law. The traditional preference for boys over girls has created a gender
imbalance in China (Human Rights Watch World Report, 326).
The fact that the Chinese government believes that he has the right to make rules and
regulations that apply to women’s reproductive health, one of the most personal rights a woman
can hold shows that the government of China has no respect for a woman’s rights. Because
China believes that it is acceptable to make laws stopping a women’s rights in such a personal
way it would not be a stretch at all to believe that they would be willing to violate every other
right women hold. That is not the only problem though; those regulations take away the family’s
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rights as well which include men’s rights in their family. It would not be unfair to believe that
China would be willing to violate other rights of men if they have already violated their family
rights. Because China is willing to violate both women’s rights and men’s rights in such a
personal way, it could be considered possible that the nation of China does not respect human
rights, even if they do allow some when it is convenient.
Another example is in Iran where Iranian women face discrimination in many areas
including marriage, divorce, inheritance and child custody. A woman also needs the male’s
approval in marriage regardless of what her age is. In Iran, much of the power is in the hands of
the males. With the permission from a male guardian, a woman is then allowed to obtain a
passport and travel outside the country. Iran is in some ways similar to the Sudan when it comes
to child marriage in South Sudan, even though not the norm, Iran still chooses to legalize child
marriage. The law allows that girls can marry at the age of 13 and boys at age 15 (Human Rights
Watch World Report 2014, 543). There is also the cultural domination; this would be seen as
issues in rejection of women rights. It was this reason that Iran does not follow the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights because equality in marriage was seen as against their culture. This
is similar values to African countries, the man is head of the household and the woman is his
shadow. All the cultural values above are not justification for rejection of universal human right.
It is not justifiable because harms are being done to women, inheritance rights are being denied
and so on which take away women’s freedoms.
Based on examples from Human Rights Watch, there is no doubt that governments from
South Sudan, China, and Iran will continue to use traditional values as a way of justifying human
rights abuses, particularly against the most vulnerable members of society; such as women and
children. Abusive government results in extreme violations of human rights which show that
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they are failing in their obligations to protect human rights. When it comes to human rights, the
people’s cultural values cannot coexist equally.
Sources
“World Report 2014: Events of 2013.” Human Rights Watch | Defending Human Rights
Worldwide. N.p., Web. < http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/wr2014_web_0.pdf >
Graeme Reid, "The Trouble with Tradition: When 'Values' Trample over Rights," World Report
2013: Events of 2012. N.p., pp. 20-28.
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