Women's rights and culture - Essay Example

Article Critique Introduction The article d Culture, Rights, And Norms: Womens Rights Reform In Muslim Countries authored by Cherif Ferya considers the effect of culture and Islamic norms on the efforts of women having equal rights to men. It emerges that Muslim countries have remained highly conservative and have preserved most of the cultural norms that define the position of men and women in the society. Notably, many of the Muslim countries have drafted constitutions, which have a strong basis of the Islamic law. Islamic law defines the cultural beliefs of many Muslims. Since the Islamic law is highly institutionalized in these countries, women are treated in accordance with the definitions of the Islamic law. The Islamic law promotes patriarchy in the society giving women only a few privileges and defining their position as low as that of men in the society. Men are given many privileges and are highly esteemed in the society. The author sought to highlight the different ways in which the Islamic culture acts as a barrier for women who seek to acquire equal rights with men. As highlighted in the article, it is not easy for women from Muslim countries to enjoy equal rights enjoyed by men because the society is highly conservative (Cherif 1145). In this paper, I will analyze the views of the author and critique the evidence presented in support of the main ideas in the article.
The author presents the context of the research by highlighting how Islamic culture determines inheritance and nationality rights. An in-depth description is presented as the author describes the stated problem that motivated this research. In order to ascertain that Islamic culture prevents women from advancing, seven different but related hypotheses were formulated. The author then embarked on empirical tests in an effort to collect data that could help reject or accept the hypotheses formulated. Notably, the focus of the author is to compare the status of women in countries that have embraced modernity and allowed women to acquire their rights and advance in education and those that have remained highly conservative. The author described both the dependent and independent variables defined for the study carried out. The purpose of the dependent variable was to assess whether countries have adopted laws that give men and women an equal standing or status (1147). On the other hand, the author identifies an independent variable as domestic institution, institutions tenure, treaty, treaty tenure, and advocacy groups. All the empirical tests carried out and their results are presented in a table which makes it easy for the readers to understand the data used.
An extensive discussion of all the author’s results is available in the article in an effort to enable the reader to understand the interpretation of the results. The author relied on deductive reasoning by introducing general concepts surrounding Islamic culture, acting as a barrier to the advancements of women. Different empirical tests were carried out in an effort to determine whether it is true that Islamic culture prevents women from enjoying equal rights with men (1150).
Conclusion
Evidently, the author of this article succeeds in presenting the argument that Islamic culture serves as a barrier for women who seek to advance and acquire equal rights. Many of the Muslims countries have remained highly conservative, a factor that explains why women in such societies are less privileged. In my opinion, the author succeeds in developing his argument and supporting it with relevant empirical tests and theories. In addition, the article draws conclusions based on scholarly evidence, which makes its findings reliable.
Addendum
The article critiqued above will serve as a reliable source in my final paper. This is because it offers detailed information on how the Islamic culture affects the acquisition of womens rights. The findings in the article will serve to inform my argument that Islamic culture serves to prevent women from obtaining an equal position with men in the society. Upholding Islamic culture denies women a chance to inherit property or enjoy nationality rights and makes them vulnerable to discrimination. These aspects are well brought about and supported in the article critiqued.
Work Cited
Cherif, Feryal M. "Culture, Rights, And Norms: Womens Rights Reform In Muslim Countries." Journal of Politics 72.4 (2010): 1144-1160. Business Source Complete. Web. 11 Nov. 2014. Read More