Female Genital Mutilation: The Fauziya Kasinga Story
by A shocking view of other cultures and how one woman turned her back on her own country for a ritual she did not believe in.
Moral and ethical relativism is an idea that ethics can not be clearly defined and that there is no universal code of ethics, ethics are relative to a given culture’s beliefs, morals and values. This concept states that every culture has their own right to define their values and morals and to practice them even if people in other cultures view them as being wrong. Therefore, a specific behavior can be defined as being ethical in one culture if it is accepted and wrong in another if it is not accepted.
Typically, people who believe in ethical relativism view a policy of a universal code of ethics to be wrong, especially when it is forced upon a foreign nation by government and/or military personnel of a separate nation. In December of 1948, the United Nations established the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
This document is a set standard of how all societies should act and treat others and clearly defines the rights of all people regardless of their nation and regardless of the U.N.’s jurisdiction within foreign nations. This means that any violation of these standards by any country can be grounds for military action. Many people, especially moral relativists, believe this enforcement of such a standard is wrong. Relativism is exactly that, its “relative,” meaning ethics and morals are relative to a given culture.
The U.N. however, believes they have every right to force their ideals on any culture they please; this notion completely wipes out any thought of relativism and condemns other cultures for actively practicing their own beliefs. This discrepancy between the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the fact that it actually limits the rights of other societies is the cause for much controversy. Asylum for cases involving potential human rights violations are a big topic today that is debated by relativists and people who believe in a Universal code of ethics.
The facts in the following case can be considered heart wrenching to us Americans but considered common practice in the area that it takes place in. Fauziya Kasinga is a woman of her native tribe of Togo, located in West Africa. When Fauziya was 17 years old, her aunt sold her to a man three times her age. This took place after Fauziya’s father had passed away and her aunt found it necessary to banish her sister (Fauziya’s mother) from the tribe and take ownership of young Fauziya.
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