Feminism and multiculturalism

mapping the terrain

:The feminism critique of multiculturalism
:Its key focus is 2 fold
it questions the basic assumption that the-1
) . respect for difference) provide
it calls attention to all the power relation and -2
.struggles that put women in risk
Today most ,stakeholders activist and others
understand the tension between respecting
.cultural identities and protecting women rights
:unsolved questions-
does gender equality must always trump cultural -
?diversity
what remedies may the legal system provide to-
?vulnerable group members
should feminist critique of multiculturalism-
expand its horizon beyond national boundaries to
?a global issues
 So focusing on the wide range of positions that
plan this terrain we can identify at least 3 distinct
.variants of feminism-multicultural critique
LIBERAL FEMINISM
POST CLONIAL FEMINSM
.MULTCULTURAL FEMINISM &

LIBERAL FEMINISM
According to SUSAN JAGGER it’s the application of
.liberal principles to women as well as men
In the debate over feminism and multiculturalism
the liberal feminist position has been most
effectively articulated in SUSAN OKINS writing her
work will serve as representative of the liberal
. feminism approach in multiculturalism
she put herself on the line in challenging what she -
viewed as an emerging orthodoxy of support for
.multiculturalism
she emphasize the need to be concentrated on-
the patterns of discrimination against women and
.girls in the private domain of family life
 she asked whether group rights are part of the-
solution or rather an exasperation of the problem
. within minority communities
?IS MULTICULTURALISM BAD FOR WOMEN
So many people respond so critically to OKINS
claims ,due to over simplified conception of
culture and religion .also the perception of female
group as a brainwashed individual who cannot
reasonably preserve their cultural or religious
identity and the third reason is her dichotomy
between western freedom and equality lovers
/versus them the barbaric who have no respect for
.women rights
This made OKINS frame work of analysis open to
.the charge made by postcolonial feminism
she urged that group rights are potentially-
. antifeminist
she asserted that most cultures have as one of-
.their principal aims the control of women by men
Such statements makes argument inaccurate and
hard to swallow for anyone who attaches value to
.cultural membership and religious identity
Similarly she pays little attention to macro-factors
like division of power between state and group
,access to justice and the structure of deliberation
process which have dramatic effect on what right
.protection and opportunity women can enjoy
She also believe that while significant changes in
gender norms of the majority in western society
.occurred, no reforms exist in the minority culture
Growing number of female member of the most
conservative branches of religious communities
that have taken a reactive turn are challenging
their tradition by offering more gender egalitarian
/ interpretation of their sacred text ex
Clearly feminist activist from conservative religious
communities faces towering obstacle.in order to
gain full legitimacy they must have support from
the respected authority of the religious
.establishment
theirs an ongoing debate in ISLAM jurisprudence*
(ALFIQEH AL ISLAMI)
If ijtihad still permits the human to endeavor of
reaching conclusion about SHARIA )then internal
change and reinterpretation even from feminist to
 become a possibility adding that ISLAM is an
institutionally decentralized religion which has
been influenced by customary tradition in
different part of the world , and further informed
, by 4 different schools of FIQEH
That display divergent positions on basic issues of
. personal and family law
So in practice who hold the power to make
political determination between the minority
. community and wider society
. This political dimension is extremely significant
Any proposal for alternative reading or
interpretation in religion or tradition is treated as
corruptive they may genuinely fear for the
corruption of identity and the very survival of
minority culture ,for instance the call to adopt a
more egalitarian interpretation of the tradition is
. seen as threat to the authority
In her view there is a value in women attaching to
cultural membership in communities even if this
. value make them more vulnerable
So in a liberal feminism eye women must be freed
from shackles of tradition ,culture and communal
.identity in order to flourish