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Disregard the above human rights instruments, the Sharia court of Nigeria based its defense on their culture norms and religious customs. (There are, indeed such defenses under human rights instruments and, truly, the ICCPR does nothing to prevent its member parties from successfully asserting that defense.)
It has been suggested that a tension between two analytical approaches which aim to strengthen human rights laws has divided the international community and has served as a barrier to the promotion of human rights. The first school of thought, Universalism, promotes the belief that all human beings are born with the same set of inherent human rights, guaranteed to them simply because they are human. Conversely, Cultural Relativists believe that human rights vary from culture to culture Cultural Relativists maintain that an activity perceived as a human rights violation in one nation may be acceptable under the prevalent cultural beliefs in another. They argue that the cultural differences of certain societies cannot be reconciled with the Universalists'' belief in a universal norm for human rights; thus, different cultures have different definitions of what constitutes a "human right." Moreover, Cultural Relativists argue that the Universalists'' perspective does not provide a better or more inclusive set of rights.
The gap between these two perspectives has frustrated efforts to create uniform human rights protections. The effect has been especially damaging to the establishment of women''s rights. Universalists claim that Cultural Relativists use "culture" to justify the continued subjugation of women. How to reconcile this problem is the main issue that we would discuss in this article. First we should be aware; no solution will be realized overnight. Because cultural attitudes and norms are not merely superficial, but instead lie deep within the social fabric of a nation, change could only occur gradually. However, the approaches we are seeking should be to the largest extent practical, effective and efficient.
The article will be divided into three parts:
Chapter One Evaluate the current efforts taken by the international community on the protection of women’s rights, examine why these conventions and approaches have not significantly changed women’s lives.
Chapter Two Explore the nature of the women’s rights abuses based on cultural or religious relativism, making clear that “A” culture can be changed through negotiation and struggle. Further explain how to arouse this change from internal to external.
Chapter Three Reference the successful practice of several countries in reconciling this problem, (US, France and Canada)
Chapter Four Conclusion
Chapter One
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