Vernacularisation of human rights

Subtitle:a case study of early marriages in Shinyanga region in Tanzania

The overall research objective of this research study was to critically examine whether how human rights are transferred by local actors from the international level to the local level with a focus on child marriage can impact the acceptance/ rejection of international human rights (IHR) at the local level. The research was conducted based on the vernacularisation of human rights framework as propounded by Merry which seeks to explain the role played by the actors who ‘transport’ human rights norms from international settings to local settings and promote their acceptance through a variation of such to a limited extent. Data for the research was collected by documentary review and field research which was conducted in Shinyanga region in Tanzania. Findings of the research include that child marriage is considered to be a violation of human rights by international human rights law and also causes a violation of human rights. It was also found that there are concerns at the local level which limit the acceptance of human rights norms on child marriage. It has also been found that the vernacularisation of human rights framework offers an advantage in addressing child marriage. Through field research, it was found that the local actors use different techniques to facilitate the acceptance of international human rights standards. These techniques include strategic use of the global human rights package, specific framing of their message against child marriage and also delivery of the message through specific channels and technologies that can facilitate acceptance. It is also a key finding of this research that the vernacularisation of human rights has had some impact on making human rights norms relevant in addressing child marriage at the local level. However, if translators are to be effective in promoting acceptance of international norms on child marriage at the local level, vernacularisation of human rights has to be complemented with uncovering and addressing concerns of the local communities which cause resistance towards the adoption of international human rights norms on child marriage.

Publication year:2021

Keywords:Doctoral thesis

Accessibility:Open