Cultural diversity, 'Living Law' and Women's Rights in South Africa

Simple item page
dc.book.titleConstitutionalism of the Global South. The Activist Tribunals of India, South Africa and Colombiaen_ZA
dc.citation.epage210en_ZA
dc.citation.spage163en_ZA
dc.contributor.authorAlbertyn, Catherine
dc.date.accessioned2018-08-29T09:06:39Z
dc.date.available2018-08-29T09:06:39Z
dc.date.issued2013
dc.description.abstractThis chapter considers the constitutional recognition of cultural diversity, especially as it is manifest through the recognition of customary law, and its relationship to the constitutional guarantee of gender equality. As the supreme law, the South African Constitution subjects all law (customary, common, and statutory) to the rights and values of the Constitution, including the primary democratic values of dignity, equality, and freedom. This chapter rejects the idea that the Constitution provides a “liberal democratic” framework that constitutes the basis for a “top-down” universalism that tests culture and custom against irretrievably external, liberal standards. Although the Constitution is capable of this, among other, interpretations, the chapter argues that the best – and most transformative – interpretation of the constitutional text is one that enables a deep respect for cultural identity and diversity and consequent recognition of positive cultural norms and practices, while also addressing cross-cutting, intragroup inequalities, such as gender. This interpretation recognizes that transformation under the South African Constitution requires courts to address multiple and intersecting inequalities, and that culture and custom – long ossified in official law – face particular challenges in adapting to contemporary political, economic, and social conditions. Although democratic and cultural values might be rooted in different contexts, South Africa’s history of colonialism, apartheid, and political struggles, as well as its socioeconomic development, mean that there is considerable common ground within and across communities for harmonizing customary law and the Constitution.en_ZA
dc.description.librarianCHA2018en_ZA
dc.description.urlhttps://www.cambridge.org/core/books/constitutionalism-of-the-global-south/57AE9D55752870B42EEE7F44AD28256Een_ZA
dc.description.urlhttps://www.cambridge.org/core/books/constitutionalism-of-the-global-south/57AE9D55752870B42EEE7F44AD28256Een_ZA
dc.facultyFaculty of Commerce, Law and Management
dc.identifier.citationC Albertyn "Cultural Diversity, 'Living Law' and Women's Rights in South Africa" in Maldonado, Daniel Bonilla, ed. Constitutionalism of the global South: The activist tribunals of India, South Africa, and Colombia. Cambridge University Press, 2013.en_ZA
dc.identifier.isbn978-1-107-03621-5
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10539/25502
dc.language.isoenen_ZA
dc.orcid.id0000-0003-4182-5079en_ZA
dc.publisherCambridge University Pressen_ZA
dc.schoolSchool of Law
dc.subjectGenderen_ZA
dc.subjectEquality
dc.subjectCustomary law
dc.subjectWomen's rights
dc.titleCultural diversity, 'Living Law' and Women's Rights in South Africaen_ZA
dc.typeBook chapteren_ZA
Files
Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
Albertyn_chapter.pdf
Size:
1.6 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Download
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
license.txt
Size:
1.71 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description:
Download
Collections
School of Law (Book chapters)
Academic Wits Research Outputs (All submissions)