On cultural objectivity

My recent internship with International Crisis Group gave me a fascinating taste of a conflicted world where culture plays a major role. It reinforced a concept I learned in my Masters course called “Culture, Conflict & Reconciliation”. It’s a fairly simple concept yet can be so easy to forget and so difficult to implement.

When we encounter another culture in our life, we must realise that we do so within our own cultural frame. In theory, most people would agree that we have cultural bias. In practice, however, most people, including myself, seem to confuse cultural objectivity with subjectivity. (Is there even such a thing as cultural objectivity?)

So, a stereotypical example: in Chechnya at the moment, there is a strong push towards traditional Sufi Islam. This includes women having to cover their head (with a hijab or headscarf) and dress modestly. Islam is also against alcohol and some shops selling it in the NC have been attacked. A Dagestani couchsurfer advised other couchsurfers to hide piercings, tattoos and generally dress conservatively to avoid trouble. There is another cultural aspect of the NC that had a profound impact on me. The concept of honour is deeply placed in NC cultures, manifesting in traditions like blood feuding, honour killings etc. I have heard of girls, who have been raped, being killed by their family to restore the family’s honour. This can also apply to people who come out as homosexual. A girl who has been ‘bride-napped’ is ‘marred’ and is unlikely to be wanted by others should the shaky marriage not work out. Disrespect in ‘The West’ can be part of day-to-day jokes but its consequences in the NC can be extremely violent. This is, of course, a generalisation but it will help me make my point.

There is another popular and less extreme example from Saudia Arabia now where women are forbidden to drive cars. Now, it’s easy for me to immediately think that this is all wrong. Women should not be forced to do or not to do anything, people should be allowed to drink booze, if they abuse it that’s their problem (although it most often spreads to others) etc.

Now I make these conclusions based on my own culture, values and upbringing. When I judge these sometimes shocking cultural norms I am putting myself into that alien culture and reacting how I would react with all my own cultural influences. I am not evaluating the situation from the point of view of someone within that culture and analysing the situation from within their cultural frame.

How can you put yourself in someone’s cultural shoes? I don’t think it’s rocket science. You must first open up to the culture without judgment. You must communicate with people and, most importantly, listen. You must never try to argue with them or try to expose what you see as flaws with leading questions. If anything, you should ask open questions.

At the same time, I’m not trying to defend any particular culture or criticise my own. Although I do support the critique of the ‘civilised West’ trying to bring progress to ‘uncivilised cultures’. We could benefit greatly by questioning whether our own culture has everything ‘right’, we could learn to live in much better balance with nature the way many aboriginal cultures did, we could be more inquisitive before we storm in to make someone’s life ‘better’.