In “Is Multiculturalism Bad for Women?,” Susan Okin’s argument is that minority ethnocultural groups that are more patriarchal than the Western societies to which they have emigrated should not be given the special groups rights that multiculturalism offers, if these group rights impede on the individual rights of group members, particularly those of women. She continues her argument by stressing that we need to look beyond the legal matters and into the domestic lives of these groups, because traditional private practices can oppress women, even if, legally, they are liberated.

In response, Katha Pollitt suggests that multiculturalism and feminism are inherently incompatible, because “multiculturalism demands respect for all cultural traditions, while feminism interrogates and challenges [them]” (27). She suggests that the West’s willingness to legally accommodate practices oppressive to women and children through the multiculturalism defense stems from women and the family being inferior within the West as well.

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