Slapping the Hand of Cultural Relativism: Female Genital Mutilation, Male Dominance, and Health as a Human Rights Framework

This law review article about female genital mutilation (FGM) is described by the author in his acknowledgements as being “for advocates and activists who fight against patriarchy and sexism and promote the importance of health and human rights” (p. 585). The author explores the history and cultural reasons behind FGM but argues that even though respect for the practices of other cultures is an important component of human rights discussions, FGM must still be combatted in order to bring about “the eradication of subordination and male dominance” (p. 588). The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), and the International Covenant of Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) are all considered.