Cultural transformation and human rights in Africa / edited by Abdullahi a. An-Na'im.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Naʻīm, ʻAbd Allāh Aḥmad, 1946-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Human rights--Africa.

Human rights.

Africa.

Physical Description:

x, 269 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

London ; New York : Zed Books ; New York : Distributed in the USA by Palgrave, [2002]

Summary:

"Cultural Transformation and Human Rights in Africa" clarifies what should constitute human rights, and strategies for their realization in an African context. The book argues for the local promotion of what should be universal human rights through processes of cultural transformation over time. While acknowledging the tensions between local cultures and the notion of universal human rights, the contributors argue that these issues can be addressed via creative possibilities within specific countries.

Contents:

The cultural transformation approach 2

The rationale and organization of this book 7

1 Cultural Transformation and Human Rights in African Societies / Abdullahi A. An-Na'im, Jeffrey Hammond 13

The human rights paradigm in context 14

Culture and cultural transformation 21

Cultural transformation and human rights in post-colonial Africa 27

2 Human Rights and Cultural Branding: Who Speaks and How / Martin Chanock 38

Rights and culture 38

Rights, culture and religion 39

International rights standards and the African case: the nature of culture 41

Culture/rights and brands: twinned discourses? An excursus into advertising 48

Africa: state, market, rights and culture 53

Constitutions and rights 60

Rights and law: land and family 61

3 The Banjul Charter: The Case for an African Cultural Fingerprint / Makau Mutua 68

Human rights in pre-colonial Africa: content and context 72

No rights without duties: an African dialectic 80

Problems and prospects for the duty/rights conception 83

4 Mediating Culture and Human Rights in Favour of Land Rights for Women in Africa: A Framework for Community-level Action / Florence Butegwa 108

Defining a complex situation for women 109

Women and land in Africa 110

Mediating conflict between culture and human rights: current practice 113

A framework for community-level advocacy for gender equality 118

Key assumptions for the framework 122

5 Are Local Norms and Practices Fences or Pathways? The Example of Women's Property Rights / Celestine Nyamu-Musembi 126

Defining the local 128

Background on key local institutions in a Kenyan rural scene 129

Pathways: possibilities for the realization of gender equality through local norms and practices 132

Fences: limits to the realization of gender equality through local norms and practices 137

Conclusion: is engagement with local norms and practices worthwhile? 143

6 Religious Revivalism, Human Rights Activism and the Struggle for Women's Rights in Nigeria / Hussaina J. Abdullah 151

The emergence and character of contemporary social movements in Nigeria during the 1980s 153

Religious revivalist movements: an overview 155

Nigerian Islamists 157

Nigerian Christian religious groups 161

The Nigerian women's movement 163

The human rights and civil liberties movement 166

The example of the Federation of Muslim Women's Associations in Nigeria (FOMWAN) 167

Religious, human rights and women's movements and the struggle for women's rights in Nigeria: an assessment 171

Postscript: Democracy, Shari'a and women's rights 176

7 Contradictory Perspectives on Rights and Justice in the Context of Land Tenure Reform in Tanzania / Issa Shivji 192

The colonial heritage 193

The terrain of contradictory perspectives: the land tenure reform experience background to land law 195

Rights/justice perspectives underlying the Commission's Report and the draft Land Act 199

8 The Effects of Land Tenure on Women's Access and Control of Land in Kenya / Akinyi Nzioki 218

Background and context 218

Framework of analysis 223

The dilemma in studying land tenure systems in Africa 225

An historical background to land tenure reform in Kenya 227

The post-colonial period and legislation on land tenure reform 237

A case study: women's land rights in Mumbuni Location, Machakos district, Eastern Province of Kenya 239

Recommendations 255.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1842770918

184277090X

OCLC:

50615276