To what extent do feminists and multiculturalists share a critique of the liberal conception of Human Rights?
Introduction The 20th century saw the formulation of a series of important Human Rights treaties; herewith, a long Western tradition of claiming and establishing rights was continued, which saw the creation of such important documents such as the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen in 1789; attempts made to codify basic rights in an absolute prose, whose circle was slowly but continually widening as to eventually include the entirety of humankind, most notably the Universal Declaration of Human Rights under authority of the United Nations in 1948. However, with the rise of post-modern thought, the concept of human rights as such was starting to be contested; more and more questions regarding the universal validity of the Human Rights agenda arose.
In the theoretical fields of thought of feminism and multiculturalism, theories pointed out the semantic superficiality of the notion of the Human Rights regime, especially its most prominent manifestations such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the numerous biased elements it contains.
In order to point out the similarities and the differences between the multiculturalist and the feminist critique of the Human Rights regime, I will first deliver an analytical exposition of the Human Rights criticism that both the theory of multiculturalism and that of feminism share. Secondly, I will discuss the characteristics unique to each of the theories in question. Thirdly, I will expose the incompatibility of these two theories; this makes it very difficult to enforce them in practice simultaneously.
Criticism of Human Rights as Brought Forth by Multiculturalism and Feminism
The starting pointing for the critique of the ambitions of Human Rights is in the multiculturalists ' as well as in the feminists ' historical analysis of the notion of human rights. Multiculturalists regard human rights as a product of Western values; due to cultural imperialism, Western civilization has imposed its ethics on
In the theoretical fields of thought of feminism and multiculturalism, theories pointed out the semantic superficiality of the notion of the Human Rights regime, especially its most prominent manifestations such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the numerous biased elements it contains.
In order to point out the similarities and the differences between the multiculturalist and the feminist critique of the Human Rights regime, I will first deliver an analytical exposition of the Human Rights criticism that both the theory of multiculturalism and that of feminism share. Secondly, I will discuss the characteristics unique to each of the theories in question. Thirdly, I will expose the incompatibility of these two theories; this makes it very difficult to enforce them in practice simultaneously.
Criticism of Human Rights as Brought Forth by Multiculturalism and Feminism
The starting pointing for the critique of the ambitions of Human Rights is in the multiculturalists ' as well as in the feminists ' historical analysis of the notion of human rights. Multiculturalists regard human rights as a product of Western values; due to cultural imperialism, Western civilization has imposed its ethics on
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