Susan M. Okin's Is Multiculturalism Bad For Women?

We live in a world where everyone is created equally. A world where we teach we are all equally treated, respected, and offered the same rights, but have yet to see women offered these rights. Susan M. Okin wrote “Is Multiculturalism Bad for Women?” in response to women versus the cultural and minority groups rules and regulations of multiculturalism. Okin defines feminism as “the belief that women should not be disadvantaged by their sex, that they should be recognized as having human dignity equally with men, and the opportunity to live as fulfilling and as freely chosen lives as men can” (Hinman 2006). Multiculturalism in the article is defined as “minority cultures or ways of life that are not sufficiently protected by ensuring the individual rights of their members” (Hinman, 2006).

He believes that minority groups deserve special rights because these cultures play an imperative role in many of these groups. These special rights affect religious, social, economic, educational, and political aspects of the members’ lives. Without these special rights, these cultures are threatened by extinction. These groups need special rights and protection because without it people could become excluded from societies.
Cultures, typically, give men power over women. In todays societies men normally have the control of dialogue regarding the group beliefs and practices. Okin states that “First, the sphere of personal, sexual, and reproductive life provides a central focus of most cultures, a dominant theme in cultural practices and rules” (Hinman, 2006). Okin feels that special group rights are anti-feminist because they support patriarchy, when patriarchy is already the dominant theme among cultures