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T H E E AG L E - T H E P U P I L S ’ P O L I T I C S M AG A Z I N E
“It is our joint responsibility to challenge traditions that say young girls can be married off as child brides. I don’t blame my parents; I blame the culture they are tied to.” Mercy Akuot
Individuals from cultures whose practices are deemed unethical, and who despite this stand in opposition to these practices, seem to come to a similar conclusion as Mr Reid. They do not believe these harmful practices to be a part of their culture; generationally, they accept that this is part of the culture of their ancestors but they themselves do not feel the need to carry them forward in order to retain their cultural identity. They still feel very much to be a part of the culture at large, just an evolved form of the culture which does not require infringing Human Rights to remain upheld. “It is our joint responsibility to challenge traditions that say young girls can be married off as child brides” says South- Sudanese singer, activist and child marriage survivor, Mercy Akuot. “I don’t blame my parents; I blame the culture they are tied to.” She stands in opposition to the parts of her culture which subjugate, abuse and victimise women. She acknowledges that it is the socialisation, or indoctrination, into these practices which has pushed her parents into abusing her Human Rights. Without such socialisation, through the evolution of her culture and the extraction of these harmful practices, those infringements would not have taken place. Similarly, Waris Dirie quotes in her book titled Desert Flower: “Because I criticize the practice of FGM some people think I don’t appreciate my culture. But they are so wrong. I thank God every day that I am from Africa, and I am very proud to be Somali.” Victims of these practices themselves explain the distinction between embedded elements of the culture which warrant retention and the inhumane and futile traditions which hinder the development of societies and generations. “The time has come to leave the old ways of suffering behind.” Cultures across the globe are radically different and must be accommodated for in the deliberation of international law. This is unquestionable. We have come to the conclusion, however, that they are not defined by certain problematic practices embedded within them and can undoubtedly evolve to uphold the rights of their people, whilst retaining their fundamental and defining beliefs and traditions.
T H E E AG L E - T H E P U P I L S ’ P O L I T I C S M AG A Z I N E
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n a i r a t i n a a hum a n i h c n i s i s cri bury Annabel Green cester lou Lower Sixth, G
ALTHOUGH CHINA OFTEN DOMINATES THE WORLD NEWS BY GOING HEAD-TOHEAD WITH THE US OR UK, WHAT HAS BEEN PUT ON THE BACKBENCH IN MANY MEDIA OUTLETS AND HAS NOT RECEIVED THE SAME ATTENTION, IS ITS INTERNAL HUMANITARIAN CRISIS – THE MUSLIM PRISON CAMPS .
