Summary

Building on her previous report on diverse forms of fundamentalism and extremism as threats to cultural rights, the Special Rapporteur elaborates on their grave impact on the cultural rights of women. She stresses that a human rights-based response to fundamentalism and extremism must by fully gender sensitive, centering the cultural rights and equality of women, and defending universality. Women’s human rights, including cultural rights, are an essential part of the fight against fundamentalism and extremism, without which it cannot succeed.

Key findings

The Special Rapporteur stresses that fundamentalist and extremist ideologies are a threat to women's human rights, and more specifically their cultural rights. She insists that States must neither purvey them nor concede women's rights to them.

Women's cultural rights, understood as fully integrated within the human rights system, are critical counterweights to fundamentalism and extremism; they call for free self-determination of women, respect for their cultural diversity, universality and equality.

Methodology

In order to assess the impact of fundamentalism and extremism on women's enjoyment of cultural rights and related challenges, the Special Rapporteur prepared a questionnaire and invited in May 2017 all States, United Nations agencies, academics and civil society organizations to send their contributions.

See the note verbale and questionnaire

Learn more about the impact of fundamentalism and extremism on cultural rights