There is no secret that human beings as a species worldwide share similarities in certain values accross cultural boundaries. Nevertheless, cultures across the world landscape function with different customs, some of which contradict a perceived uniformal moral framework. When certain cultural customs, such as female genital mutilation or the rejection of contraception, do not agree with certain standards of health that are perceived to contribute to the betterment of well being, certain international non-government organizations attempt to take initiative to try and intervene. When dealing with issues of health, such organizations commonly attempt to assist in improving health of such cultures by creating a civil and human rights platform, in which education of local populations in western medicine is the chosen method for bringing about change. The controversy however, arrives due to the actual long term affects that INGO’s have on such local social institutions. In many cases, the local population participates in such things as female genital cutting because it provides an advantage for women in their search for a husband, which in many cases is the only way to ensure a decent quality of life. Contraception is gets rejected in certain cases because it contradicts with religious belief systems. When INGOs infiltrate these cultures, they educate and empower on the foundations of human rights, but they neglect and don’t not have enough influence to alter cultures enough to preserve uniform sentiments in the local culture for the long term. For example, women may feel uplifted and become healthier in a biological sense, but in many cases they quality of life is reduced because they are cut off from social benefits only provided through marriage, and in many cases, women are deemed unfit for marriage if they are not circumcised. Thus, their progressive intent, in many cases is short lived, and consequently reduces the quality of life for the
same people in which these organizations intend to help. Then brings the imminent questions: is there and way to progress to a universal understanding of human rights across cultural boundaries? Is there any end to the suffering of marginalized peoples? If governments and INGOs cannot fix such issues for the long term, is there any hope in solving such issues.