04-20-2006, 09:16 AM
To: bcjournal@jhubc.it
cc webmaster@indicethos.org
Date: Apr 19, 2006 12:41 PM
Subject: Your paper on Universal Rights and Cultural Relativism: Hinduism and Islam Deconstructed
Your paper on Universal Rights and Cultural Relativism: Hinduism and Islam Deconstructed at http://www.jhubc.it/bcjournal/articles/polisi.cfm, makes many unsubstantiated remarks and states assumptions as facts. For instance, you say and I quote
âCultural relativist arguments have often been used to justify even the most severe human rights abuses around the world. My objective in this essay is to begin to deconstruct the issue of cultural relativism as it applies to human rights law and show how it is used as a tool for promoting the degradation and marginalization of women in Hindu and Islamic societies. I will briefly highlight human rights violations committed against women in Hindu and Islamic cultures such as physical and verbal abuse, dowry killings, gender-biased laws, forced prostitution, female trafficking, restricted access to education, exclusion from participation in government, unfair court proceedings, and pre-menarche marriage, and argue that these violations have no cultural justification.
Is this an assumption you are making especially when you talk about Hindu women. If it is a fact, you give no statistics for your claims. India is a large country with a billion people, so even if there are a few thousand cases like you describe this is a drop in the bucket from a percentage standpoint and cannot be used to tar the whole community . If it is a assumption you give no basis for your assumptions. Where does it say that the incidence of events you describe is widespread in India and forms a statistically significant phenomenon. It appears you have taken anecdotal incidents and converted them erroneously to a conclusion that such behavior is widespread in India
While reading your article, I was somewhat astonished when you club the status of Hindu women with that of women in Islamic countries. The comparison is so absurd that it defies belief. In fact the material in your paper does not support the title of your paper which is highly misleading. There is simply no comparison nor is there justification to club the status of women in these two cultures in the same category. In fact none of the supporting material you have presented supports the thesis of your article.
1. You have rightly maintained that the status of women in ancient India was not inferior to that of women in other ancient societies and in fact India is one of the few ancient civilizations that elevates the status of women to one of respect, in sharp contrast to the status of women in the Roman civilization or even till recently in Italian society.
2. You show no statistics of abuse of women in contemporary India today. It is not our contention that there is no exploitation of men by women (and even vice versa), but the incidence is miniscule in relation to the size of the population when viewed as a percentage and when compared with abuse of women in western countries and certainly when compared to Islamic societies. Furthermore India is a poor country (this is fast changing as we speak) with about 25% living in poverty and more vulnerable to exploitation by others. This is not to excuse such conduct ,but it is neither gender specific nor is it excessive statistically speaking when compared to other societies which are even more affluent.
3. In contrast in Islam one is allowed to have four wives even today. Mohammad himself took several wives not to mention dozens of concubines. In Islam one is allowed to divorce a wife by saying âTalaaqâ three times. I personally feel we should call a spade a spade and that Islam has degraded the status of women when compared to the same societies in pre-Islamic times. A womanâs testimony is worth only half that of a man in Islam. Women cannot drive an automobile in Saudi Arabia which is the custodian of Islam. She cannot stir out of the house without being accompanied by a male. And of course in many Islamic societies she has to wear a full length Burqa covering her from head to foot. At the very least they have to cover their head. None of this is true in Hindu societies,
Pl. reconsider your viewpoint and please do not make sweeping judgments about women in Hindu society.
With regards,
Kosla Vepa
Indicethos.org
cc webmaster@indicethos.org
Date: Apr 19, 2006 12:41 PM
Subject: Your paper on Universal Rights and Cultural Relativism: Hinduism and Islam Deconstructed
Your paper on Universal Rights and Cultural Relativism: Hinduism and Islam Deconstructed at http://www.jhubc.it/bcjournal/articles/polisi.cfm, makes many unsubstantiated remarks and states assumptions as facts. For instance, you say and I quote
âCultural relativist arguments have often been used to justify even the most severe human rights abuses around the world. My objective in this essay is to begin to deconstruct the issue of cultural relativism as it applies to human rights law and show how it is used as a tool for promoting the degradation and marginalization of women in Hindu and Islamic societies. I will briefly highlight human rights violations committed against women in Hindu and Islamic cultures such as physical and verbal abuse, dowry killings, gender-biased laws, forced prostitution, female trafficking, restricted access to education, exclusion from participation in government, unfair court proceedings, and pre-menarche marriage, and argue that these violations have no cultural justification.
Is this an assumption you are making especially when you talk about Hindu women. If it is a fact, you give no statistics for your claims. India is a large country with a billion people, so even if there are a few thousand cases like you describe this is a drop in the bucket from a percentage standpoint and cannot be used to tar the whole community . If it is a assumption you give no basis for your assumptions. Where does it say that the incidence of events you describe is widespread in India and forms a statistically significant phenomenon. It appears you have taken anecdotal incidents and converted them erroneously to a conclusion that such behavior is widespread in India
While reading your article, I was somewhat astonished when you club the status of Hindu women with that of women in Islamic countries. The comparison is so absurd that it defies belief. In fact the material in your paper does not support the title of your paper which is highly misleading. There is simply no comparison nor is there justification to club the status of women in these two cultures in the same category. In fact none of the supporting material you have presented supports the thesis of your article.
1. You have rightly maintained that the status of women in ancient India was not inferior to that of women in other ancient societies and in fact India is one of the few ancient civilizations that elevates the status of women to one of respect, in sharp contrast to the status of women in the Roman civilization or even till recently in Italian society.
2. You show no statistics of abuse of women in contemporary India today. It is not our contention that there is no exploitation of men by women (and even vice versa), but the incidence is miniscule in relation to the size of the population when viewed as a percentage and when compared with abuse of women in western countries and certainly when compared to Islamic societies. Furthermore India is a poor country (this is fast changing as we speak) with about 25% living in poverty and more vulnerable to exploitation by others. This is not to excuse such conduct ,but it is neither gender specific nor is it excessive statistically speaking when compared to other societies which are even more affluent.
3. In contrast in Islam one is allowed to have four wives even today. Mohammad himself took several wives not to mention dozens of concubines. In Islam one is allowed to divorce a wife by saying âTalaaqâ three times. I personally feel we should call a spade a spade and that Islam has degraded the status of women when compared to the same societies in pre-Islamic times. A womanâs testimony is worth only half that of a man in Islam. Women cannot drive an automobile in Saudi Arabia which is the custodian of Islam. She cannot stir out of the house without being accompanied by a male. And of course in many Islamic societies she has to wear a full length Burqa covering her from head to foot. At the very least they have to cover their head. None of this is true in Hindu societies,
Pl. reconsider your viewpoint and please do not make sweeping judgments about women in Hindu society.
With regards,
Kosla Vepa
Indicethos.org