Browsing by Author "Dlamini, Lennox Khulekani"

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    A philosophical investigation of virginity testing in Kwazulu-Natal: a contribution to the multiculturalism and feminism debate.
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2021-12) Dlamini, Lennox Khulekani; Du Toit, Louise; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Philosophy.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: A debate has broken out between promoters of multiculturalism and those of feminism. Even though both can be said to be interested in some form of equality, some feminists argue that multiculturalists’ demand for cultural group rights can only be realised at the expense of women. Will Kymlicka (1995) is convinced that individualistic human rights as promulgated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are insufficient for the protection of two kinds of groups, that is, national and polyethnic minorities. According to Kymlicka group-specific rights are morally justified as means to ensure minorities’ meaningful participation in liberal society and government. Susan Moller Okin (1999) in her book, Is Multiculturalism Bad for Women? questions and rejects Kymlicka’s multiculturalist theory based on her conviction that it represents a threat to the progress made by feminists to challenge patriarchal worldviews. She argues that there is an inherent conflict between feminism and multiculturalism, and if special group rights were to be granted to national minorities, women from the minorities would be in a disadvantaged position (ibid.:10). However, Okin’s strong tone in her suggestion that cultures that oppress women should be allowed to go extinct is an issue of concern and has polarised the debate in the form of an intractable multiculturalism vs feminism conflict. Anne Phillips (2007; 2010) offers an alternative/middle way to the stonecast polarisation caused by what she deemed as an exaggerated value given to role of culture as a determining cause of human behaviour (2007:8). According to Phillips, a fundamental change in our understanding of the role culture plays in people’s lives will defuse the construed dilemma between multiculturalism and feminism. This change entails rejecting the essentialist and deterministic notions that are too often attached to culture. Like Phillips, I argue that both multiculturalism and feminism have something to offer on the condition that both accept that cultures are always changing as the result of both internal and external influences. At the same time, I argue that culture needs not be the enemy of feminism; on the contrary, culture and particular practices can be manipulated in such a way that they advance feminist goals. Thus, in Chapter Five, I link the multiculturalism and feminism debate to the lived experience of the people of South Africa. I focus on virginity testing (henceforth VT), as practised in KwaZulu-Natal. In the early 1990s, VT was re-established in KwaZulu-Natal as a cultural alternative to government initiatives to fight the spread of HIV/AIDS. In recent years, however, VT has been condemned by South African human rights organisations and women’s rights organisations such as the African National Congress Women’s League (ANCWL). In response, in 2006, the government signed into law the Children’s Act No. 38 of 2005, which bans VT of girls younger than 16 years of age and regulates VT of the girls above 16. I argue that a total ban on VT might deprive feminists of the opportunity to empower young girls through promoting those VT elements that have the potential to strengthen the feminist agenda.