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Chapter Six: Localizing Human Rights and Rights Consciousness

In order for human rights ideas to be effective, however, they need to be translated into local terms and situated within local contexts of power and meaning. They need, in other words, to be remade in the vernacular.

Moreover, because gender violence is deeply embedded in systems of kinship, religion, warfare, and nationalism, its prevention requires major social changes in communities, families, and nations.

Human rights ideas, embedded in cultural assumptions about the nature of the person, the community, and the state, do not translate easily from one setting to another. If human rights ideas are to have an impact, they need to become part of the consciousness of ordinary people around the world.

Consciousness is a slippery, unquantifiable concept and it is difficult to know how many of the indigenous women fully incorporated the gender equality framework.

Third, to have local impact, human rights ideas need to be framed in terms of local values and images, but in order to receive funding, a wider audience, and international legitimacy, they have to be framed in terms of transnational rights principles.

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Human rights ideas displace alternative visions of social justice that are less individualistic and more focused on communities and responsibilities, possibly contributing to the cultural homogenization of local communities.

Using these documents, the human rights process seeks to replace cultural practices that are discriminatory with other cultural practices rooted in modern ideas of gender equality. Thus, like the colonial state, they seek to move ethnically defined subjects into the realm of rights-bearing modernity (see Comaroff and Comaroff 1997; Comaroff 1998). This effort sometimes demonizes culture as it seeks to save individuals from its oppressive effects.

Local women's groups translated the grievances into a rights language that the legislature and political leaders could hear. They taught rural women how to frame their inheritance problems in the language of rights and to talk to reporters this way. This example shows the importance of translators, people who navigate between more or less separate social worlds, helping each group to understand the perspectives of others.

discuss how right based citizenship dependent on its intergration into preexisting cultural norms

discuss them as separate, cooexisting, interdependent

how violence can be seen as a cultural norm aand a part of gendered relationships

takes on a new identity, a new subject position defined by law seeing how it conforms or contradicts wit hother subject positiojns she ocupies

could connect to how donnelly argues against culture as seen in gooddale.

seen as “bad” victims because they file charges then drop them, tuied to perception of ebing good wife mother.

difficulty does not mean we hsould give up, “ the more state institutuions reflect back serious attention to her as a persons with rights not to be battered, the more whilling she will be to take on this identity… if these rights are treated as insignificant she may give up and no longer think abour her greviances in terms of rights.

Government creates technocratic aspect to

also example of ethnographic research. Merry interviewed 30 women and 21 men about their expereinces with teh legal system in the small town of Hiulo Hawaii. interviews were also part of observing womens support groups and mens batterers groups.

Understanding Human Rights Localization

• Exploration of how individuals understand and frame personal issues as human rights violations.

• Importance of integrating human rights concepts into local cultural frameworks.

• Examination of the divide between transnational activists and local leaders; adaptation of human rights to fit local contexts.

• Questions posed:

  • Do marginalized individuals see their issues as human rights violations?

  • How has rights consciousness evolved at grassroots levels?

Activists' Perspectives on Human Rights Awareness

• Many activists report a limited understanding of human rights within village communities.

• Even in rights-conscious societies like the United States, there is often reluctance to assert rights, particularly among vulnerable populations.

• Case studies utilized to illustrate the adoption of a rights-based framework by grassroots individuals.

Challenge of Cultural Legitimacy in Human Rights

• Argument that human rights must resonate with existing normative values to gain cultural legitimacy.

• Reference to An-Na'im's assertions about the effectiveness of human rights narratives in Islamic contexts when aligned with local religious frameworks.

• Human rights concepts challenge conventional understanding of relationships, facilitating a transformation in local legal consciousness.

• Importance of cross-cultural dialogue to reconcile universal human rights with local traditions.

Empowerment through Human Rights Framing

• Redefining intimate partner violence as a human rights violation shifts state responsibility (e.g., state obligation to punish domestic violence).

• Historical context of the French Revolution and demand for radical social change through rights assertions.

• Framework does not replace existing cultural narratives but overlays them, enhancing understanding of justice.

Case Studies: Grassroots Engagement with Human Rights

Battered Women’s Movement in Hawai'i

• Historical context of the battered women's movement advocating for viewing domestic violence as a crime.

• Research highlights that women often hesitate to embrace a rights-based identity due to fear and social pressures.

• Identity transition involves significant shifts in self-perception and relational dynamics.

• Interaction with law enforcement and judicial systems impacts women's willingness to assert rights.

• Women's rights consciousness evolves through ongoing engagement with legal institutions, but many still perceive their experiences through relational (kinship) frameworks.

The Female Inheritance Movement in Hong Kong

• Rural women challenge the male-only inheritance systems through protests, framing their grievances as human rights violations.

• Activism represents a blending of grassroots narratives with international human rights discourse.

• Diverse coalition of participants from different socio-economic backgrounds, driven by a shared goal of equal inheritance.

• Critical role of translators (such as social workers and activists) in bridging knowledge gaps between local grievances and the language of rights.

• Historical legacies of colonialism and legal discrimination inform current social dynamics and movements.

Cultural Dimensions of Rights Advocacy

• Engagement in advocacy requires navigating complex identities that often intersect with cultural traditions and expectations.

• Women's identities are reshaped through interactions with legal systems, fostering a new understanding of gender and power dynamics.

• The emergence of multiple subjectivities based on individual experiences; the constructs of good victim vs. rights-bearing subject.

Conclusion

• Adoption of rights frameworks is contingent on positive institutional responses that validate personal experiences of violation.

• Grassroots advocacy can effectively leverage rights language without deep-rooted commitment to human rights ideals.

• Essential for human rights movements to acknowledge the local context and ensure inclusivity in translating global narratives into actionable local strategies.

Case Studies: Grassroots Engagement with Human Rights

Battered Women’s Movement in Hawai'i

• Timeframe: 1980s - Present

• Location: Hawai'i

• Takeaway: The movement advocates for viewing domestic violence as a crime, yet highlights that women often hesitate to embrace a rights-based identity due to fear and social pressure. The movement emphasizes significant shifts in self-perception and relational dynamics as women interact with law enforcement and judicial systems, although many still view their experiences through relational (kinship) frameworks.

The Female Inheritance Movement in Hong Kong

• Timeframe: 2000s - Present

• Location: Hong Kong

• Takeaway: Rural women actively challenge male-only inheritance laws through protests, framing their grievances as human rights violations. This activism blends grassroots narratives with international human rights discourses and involves a diverse coalition of participants from varying socio-economic backgrounds united by the goal of equal inheritance. The role of translators, such as social workers and activists, is critical in connecting local grievances with the language of rights, reflecting ongoing effects of colonialism and legal discrimination in current social dynamics.