Multiculturalism and Women's Rights: Abu-Lughod vs. Okin

Introduction

This essay examines the critical dialogue between Lila Abu-Lughod's "Do Muslim Women Need Saving?" and Susan Moller Okin's "Is Multiculturalism Bad for Women?" to explore the relationship between multiculturalism and women's rights. The focus is on hypothesizing how Abu-Lughod might respond to and critique Okin's views on multiculturalism's impact on women, drawing exclusively from their texts.

Susan Moller Okin on Multiculturalism and Women's Rights

Susan Moller Okin argues in her essay that multiculturalism can be detrimental to women's rights. She contends that many cultures have traditions and legal systems that subordinate women, and that multicultural policies often protect these practices. She illustrates the tension between feminism and multiculturalism by citing the French accommodation of polygamy, arguing that it "illustrates a deep and growing tension between feminism and multiculturalist concerns to protect cultural diversity. I think we — especially those of us who consider ourselves politically progressive and opposed to all forms of oppression — have been too quick to assume that feminism and multiculturalism are both good things which are easily reconciled." Her point is that feminism is a culture in its own right, one that is marginalized the more other cultural values antagonistic to it are promoted and elevated.

Okin is particularly critical of how group rights can overshadow individual rights, especially those of women within minority cultures. Her central concern is that the pursuit of cultural preservation might come at the cost of gender equality. When she defines both feminism and multiculturalism, she does so by highlighting the intrinsic way in which the two concepts are inherently opposed: "By 'feminism,' I mean the belief that women should not be disadvantaged by their sex, that they should be recognized as having human dignity equally with men, and the opportunity to live as fulfilling and as freely chosen lives as men can. 'Multiculturalism' is harder to pin down, but the particular aspect that concerns me here is the claim, made in the context of basically liberal democracies, that minority cultures or ways of life are not sufficiently protected by ensuring the individual rights of their members and as a consequence should also be protected with special group rights or privileges."

She therefore argues that by advocating for group rights, liberal democracies are effectively advocating for cultural values that are anti-feminist. She notes that "most cultures are suffused with practices and ideologies concerning gender. Suppose, then, that a culture endorses and facilitates the control of men over women in various ways (even if informally, in the private sphere of domestic life). Suppose, too, that there are fairly clear disparities of power between the sexes, such that the more powerful, male members are those who are generally in a position to determine and articulate the group's beliefs, practices, and interests. Under such conditions, group rights are potentially, and in many cases actually, antifeminist." In other words, multiculturalism risks reversing the gains made by feminists over recent decades by privileging the interests of other cultural groups.

Lila Abu-Lughod's Critique of Western Feminist Narratives

Lila Abu-Lughod critiques the notion that Muslim women need to be "saved" by Western interventions. She argues against the universal application of Western notions of rights and feminism, emphasizing instead the need to understand the complexities within different cultures. Abu-Lughod suggests that the discourse of saving Muslim women often stems from a lack of understanding of their lived realities and a failure to recognize their agency. She challenges the Western tendency to homogenize and simplify the experiences of Muslim women.

Abu-Lughod discusses the political timing of a Time magazine cover story featuring a young Afghan woman whose nose had been cut off by her Taliban husband and in-laws. This story was used to imply that women would be the first victims if the United States left Afghanistan, despite the fact that such atrocities occurred even while U.S. and British troops were present. This highlights how Western narratives often use the plight of Muslim women to justify political and military actions. She also reflects on the sudden Western interest in Muslim women following 9/11 and urges skepticism, noting that this interest frequently resorts to cultural explanations while overshadowing the relevant political and historical contexts. This cultural framing, she argues, is precisely what prevents a deeper understanding of the roots of human suffering in these regions.

She further criticizes the tendency to seek cultural or religious explanations for problems in Muslim-majority countries rather than exploring their political histories and global interconnections, arguing that this approach artificially divides the world and oversimplifies complex situations. She also draws parallels with colonial history, noting that the "woman question" was frequently used to justify colonial rule — citing examples from British colonialism in South Asia and French colonialism in Algeria, where women's issues were mobilized to promote colonial policies. Overall, she criticizes the simplistic Western view that Muslim women need to be "saved," arguing that this perspective fails to account for the full range of Muslim experience, the diversity of Muslim societies, and the agency of Muslim women themselves.

Conclusion

The dialogue between Abu-Lughod and Okin illuminates the complex relationship between multiculturalism and women's rights. Okin raises valid concerns about the potential harms of multicultural policies to women's rights, while Abu-Lughod offers a critical perspective on the need to understand and respect cultural differences. Their views together highlight the distinct challenges associated with advocating for women's rights in a multicultural context, and underscore the need for cultural sensitivity and nuanced understanding on all sides of the debate.

References

Abu-Lughod, L. (2015). Do Muslim women need saving? Qualitative Inquiry, 15(5), 759–777. SAGE Publications.

Moller Okin, S. (2017). Is multiculturalism bad for women? Boston Review. Retrieved from