Citation

McKerl M. Cult. Relig. 2007; 8(2): 187-217.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2007, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/14755610701424032

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This article examines the debate between feminism and multiculturalism, critiquing the term multiculturalism by investigating men's violence against women. It shows that without such a critique the term multiculturalism becomes meaningless, providing a way for government and policy makers to avoid engaging with difficult issues. The position of Muslim women is an intersection of many social justice issues, illustrating the status and treatment of both Muslim and non-Muslim women. Majority community members often erroneously consider men's violence against women within ethnic minority communities as a part of their religion and culture, while pathologising the same acts of violence as deviant behaviour within their own culture. This dichotomy fails to address violence against women as a universal phenomenon, requiring shared strategies to confront forces of subordination at work in areas such as gender, ‘race’, ethnicity, transnational economic inequalities, ageism, sexism, dis/ability, religious discrimination and homophobia, all of which illustrate intersections of discrimination.