Multicultural Citizenship and Women’s Rights in the Experience of Women’s Intercultural Associations in Italy

A part of feminist liberal theory has identified multiculturalism to be in opposition to women’s rights (Okin, 1999) and those theories may become even more appealing in current times of anti/post-multiculturalism. In response, other authors have advocated for the necessity to distinguish between liberal and critical or reflexive multiculturalism (Rattansi, 1999; Parekh, 2000). Also feminist post-colonial authors have criticised those forms of institutionalised multiculturalism which are based on static notions of culture. (Yuval Davis, 1997, 2006) This paper analyses the tension between multiculturalism and women’s rights in the specific setting of women’s inter cultural associations bringing together, in the Italian context, migrant and Italian-born women in order to promote feminist and antiracist aims. In particular, it analyses how these associations have addressed issues of citizenship and specifically those issues which are taken as examples of cultural difference such as Islamic veiling practices, female genital mutilations, forced marriages. It aims to respond to the question: to what extent the chosen associations have been able to reach a position which avoids both the “Scylla of feminist fundamentalism and the Charybdis of cultural relativism?” (Anthias, 2002) In other words, how is it possible to keep feminist and antiracist values together within a project based on the notion of feminist reflexive solidarity? In the analysis the theoretical framework of intersectionality is used not only to analyse how different dimensions, such as gender, race, ethnicity, citizenship status, class and age, intersect to determine people’s experience of discrimination, but also how interlocking systems of oppression, such as sexism and racism, intersect. (Hill Collins, 2000) The paper is based on a theoretical and empirical study, carried out in Italy which focused on six women’s intercultural associations through in-depth interviews and documentary analysis.