Cultural Relativism
According to Connolly & Ward (2008) , cultural relativism refers to a society’s ability to understand a different culture on its terms without making judgments based on the standards of their own culture. Individuals must be able to understand that we do not have universal moral truths and as such, they cannot refer to customs as incorrect or correct. The main reason behind this is that we do not have an independent standard to measure what is right or wrong. It would be impossible to achieve human rights for everyone in society because, people have to understand no culture is superior to the other in terms of morality, politics, beliefs, and laws. Their concept of cultural relativism derives its meaning within specific cultural contexts and is based on the idea that there is no absolute good or evil ( Connolly & Ward, 2008 ). Consequently, every judgment and decision that is made regarding this aspect should be made in a particular culture. One of the main challenges here is that societies are not homogenous and as such, this makes it difficult for people to accept other cultures and treat them equally because they look down upon them. For instance, western civilizations believe FGM practices are barbaric and inhumane because they consider such cultures to be inferior to their own.
Minority Group Rights
In many societies, human rights do not adequately address the issues that are faced by minority groups. As Connolly & Ward (2008) note, the disabled community and some indigenous groups are at the greatest risk because they lack protection. Whereas the repression and violation of human rights for majority groups are well documented, little attention is paid to them. For instance, certain ethnicities are not able to fully exercise their fundamental human rights because governments are forceful and suppressive. The main challenge here is that individuals are denied equal access to basic rights because their cultures are not entitled to such privileges. Failure to consider these groups leaves them alienated and segregated from the rest of the world, a factor that may lead to the extinction of a culture ( Connolly & Ward, 2008 ). For example, some African communities consider disabled people as outcasts and as such, do not accept them in their homes because they are different from the rest. In such a case, the affected individuals represent a minority group that is discriminated.
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References
Connolly, M., & Ward, T. (2008). Morals, rights and practice in the human services: Effective and fair decision-making in health, social care and criminal justice . London: Jessica Kingsley.
