Cultural Critiques in Human Beings - Free Essay Example

Introduction

The concept of human rights has been sold out to non-western cultures, yet imbued with some deficiencies. One of the challenges associated with the idea of human rights is its inability to represent minority groups such as disabled and indigenous persons, in a culture like that of New Zealand (Marie & Ward, 2007). There is also the idea that it is wrong to criticize another culture as an outsider is based on the thesis of cultural relativism. Cultures are deemed to be complex structures and are only understandable by people within the system. Human rights are a concept that is imbued with challenges, whose solutions are not yet elaborate.

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Minority Group Rights

In an effort to correct human rights deficiencies, unique treatments such as reserved seats in political positions and land parcels for the so-called suppressed population have resulted in a counterbalance that could be deemed an imbalance. The above entitlements associated with special groups are regarded as a bias against the dominant population. The above issues are deemed an antithesis of human rights as they are not enjoyed equally by everyone in the society. The implementation of human rights requires additional resources that mostly lack in most societies, hence the counterbalance measures.

Cultural Relativism

While real cultures might have differences, these differences should not supersede the fact that humanity is imbued with commonality. Most issues facing the human race are common in the sense that there are issues common to all women, whether Western or African (Marie & Ward, 2007). It is worth noting that cultural relativism is the reason why Western feminism is considered invalid to criticize women in Africa, more so those practicing Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). Women in Africa practicing FGM are of the idea that women from the West do not understand why they perform the circumcision because they cannot resonate with their culture.

Conclusion

From a western perspective, human rights could be deemed an obsolete concept, while it lacks it in the real sense. Regarding minority groups, the concept dictates that only people within a particular cultural setting are regarded to understand the culture's intricacies. In that regard, even though people may be experiencing similar challenges, outsiders could be dismissed even when they communicate that which is appropriate. Previously, efforts to subvert the dominant group's human rights in society have caused more imbalance; hence, human rights are inadequate.

Reference

Marie, C. & Ward, T. M. (2007). Rights and Practice in the Human Services: Effective and Fair Decision-Making in Health, Social Care, and Criminal Justice. Jessica Kingsley Publishers. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/springfieldcollege.