A/72/155 explored in the Special Rapporteur’s most recent report to the Human Rights Council (A/HRC/34/56). 5. In an important report on the cultural rights of women, the Special Rapporteur’s predecessor underlined their rights to have access to, participate in and contribute to all aspects of cultural life and practices, without discrimination, as guaranteed by international law. This encompasses women’s rights to actively engage in identifying and interpreting cultural heritage and to decide which cultural traditions, values or practices are to be kept, modified or discarded. The cultural rights of women are vital in and of themselves, and also as a critical gateway to their enjoyment of all human rights (A/67/287). 6. At the heart of fundamentalist and extremist paradigms are rejections of the equality and universality of human rights, both of which are critical to ensuring women’s cultural rights and making the unwavering defence of those principles the touchstone of a gender inclusive human rights response. The fact that the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women is the human rights convention subject to the most reservations, many of which are based on unacceptable cultural relativist excuses — advocated by fundamentalists — for not implementing women’s equality, is a win for extremist and fundamentalist ideologies, which must be reversed. 5 States have argued that such reservations are not being withdrawn owing to the growing threat of fundamentalism and have claimed that they are a bulwark against fundamentalism. 6 “Thus, dismantling of structural discriminatory provisions and the removal of reservations justified by cultural/religious practices is a priority concern calling for concerted action”. 7 7. There are common themes across fundamentalist and extremist abuses of cultural rights, which have a particularly dire impact on the cultural rights of women. Such abuses often involve attempts at cultural engineering aimed at redesigning culture based on monolithic world views, focused on “purity” and enmity towards “the other”, policing “honour” and “modesty”, claiming cultural and moral superiority, imposing a claimed “true religion” or “authentic culture” or “modest” dress and behaviour codes often alien to the lived cultures of local populations, demonizing efforts to oppose stereotyping as a “gender ideology”, stifling freedom of artistic expression and curtailing scientific freedom. They als o aim to restrict the sexual and reproductive rights of all. 8. Fundamentalist and extremist groups often seek to quash expression of cultural opposition to their own agenda. Diverse religious fundamentalists have sought to punish cultural expression that is antithetical to their interpretations of religion, often in ways that have a particular impact on women, including through blasphemy laws, gender discriminatory family laws, campaigns of harassment, education that does not conform to human rights standards, and outright violence. 9. Extremists often harass and target female members of minority groups and lesbian, bisexual and transgender women as they seek to enjoy their equal cultural rights (see A/HRC/29/23 and A/HRC/19/41). They now try to prohibit the freedom of movement of entire national groups based on discriminatory approaches that penalize the victims of fundamentalism and extremism themselves. 8 This has already had an impact on access, by women human rights defenders from countries __________________ 5 6 7 8 4/23 Submission from International Women’s Rights Action Watch Asia Pacific (IWRAW). See CEDAW/C/BGD/8; CEDAW/C/MOR/1. Submission from International Women’s Rights Action Watch Asia Pacific. OHCHR, “US travel ban: ‘new policy breaches Washington’s human rights obligations’ — UN experts”, 1 February 2017. 17-12043