Display:
A very difficult area when you think about accommodating other people's religious and cultural practices are the intergenerational conflicts that may arise. And at this point we must also be able to answer, what are the cultural rights of the child? To what extent, and for how long can parent force a restrictive non-majority culture on a growing human being? These conflicts are primarily seen in the media in the very extreme cases of so called honer killings. However, the interest should not just be on those extreme cases where we can clearly say there are no cultural rights. But what are the rights of the child vs. parents in milder cases?

For example, a few months ago there was some ideas flying past in the Swedish media about abolishing parents' right to have their children exempted from sexual, physical and religious education based on religious/cultural objections. I.e. it can perhaps be said within the Swedish context that there is no cultural right to ignorance. You may keep your culture, but in no way do you have a right to remain ignorant (or enforce ignorance on offspring) on culturally sensitive topics. I don't know what happened with this proposal, if it was brought up in the parliament, voted on, etc.

by someone (s0me1smail(a)gmail(d)com) on Mon Nov 3rd, 2008 at 08:52:18 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Have not seen it since the brief media debate, so I think it has been dropped.

A vote for PES is a vote for EPP! A vote for EPP is a vote for PES! Support the coalition, vote EPP-PES in 2009!
by A swedish kind of death on Mon Nov 3rd, 2008 at 12:30:41 PM EST
[ Parent ]
From the minority community's viewpoint, it's not an intergenerational conflict, or even imposition, but defending a system of values, and most importantly, protecting the wellbeing of the child.
Such behaviour appears mostly when there's a strong sentiment that the host country's values are deeply wrong (like, gender issues to muslims).

When this is the case, the truth is relative to where your own position is on the matter. The only way to solve this is by decree: my values are the right ones, because I am the host and the majority. This will lead to revolt, unless such issues are tackled and solved very very early by an immigration policy based on assimilation - at least concerning this kind of conflictual issues.
Playing the righteousness card (as in, we're more advanced than you, we know women position in society is a human rights issue, not a cultural one) is probably the worst solution.

Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last! (Martin Luther King)

by ValentinD (walentijn arobase free spot frança) on Mon Nov 3rd, 2008 at 08:47:58 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Display:
Login
. Make a new account
. Reset password
Occasional Series