Reaching Common Ground: Culture, Gender and Human Rights

Cultural practices that abuse human rights, especially women’s rights, can best be changed through support for pre-existing change advocates within the culture, according to a new United Nations report released here and in London today.

Development projects to promote equality for women should integrate cultural factors into policy and programs, said the State of World Population 2008 report from UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund. But they do not have to be value-neutral and should not accept cultural abuses, such as female genital cutting, the report said, because human rights reflect universal values.

For full article, visit:
http://www.unfpa.org/swp/2008/presskit/docs/en-swop08-report.pdf