Abstract

Observing that repugnant cultural and religious ideas is used to justify the control of women by men, Susan Moller Okin proposed the following solution to the problem of group rights: In negotiations for group rights with minority cultural groups, whenever the dominant ideas and practices of minority cultural groups contradict the idea that men and women are moral equals, the state should show more concern towards the group members, namely the women, who are subordinated by the group rather than group itself. This thesis argues that this solution is unjust and impractical, ultimately leading to the unequal treatment of members--males and female members alike--of minority cultural groups.