Double standard

(The following text or part of it is quoted from the free Wikipedia:)

A double standard is the application of different sets of principles for similar situations.[1]

A double standard may take the form of an instance in which certain concepts (often, for example, a word, phrase, social norm, or rule) are perceived as acceptable to be applied by one group of people, but are considered unacceptable—taboo—when applied by another group. A double standard can therefore be described as a biased or morally unfair application of the principle that all are equal in their freedoms. Such double standards are seen as unjustified because they violate a basic maxim of modern legal jurisprudence: that all parties should stand equal before the law. Double standards also violate the principle of justice known as impartiality, which is based on the assumption that the same standards should be applied to all people, without regard to subjective bias or favoritism based on social class, rank, ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual orientation, age, or other distinctions. A double standard violates this principle by holding different people accountable according to different standards.

Examples for double standards related to HGM

Volker Beck

The German Greens politician Volker Beck has been working for decades for the legal equality of homosexuals. In relation to the persecution and killing of homosexuals in other countries he spoke out clearly against the encroachments of religions in the rights of others from (while the ban on the killing of another human being in a state of law needs no constraint "in the name of religion"):

“

Die Tötung eines anderen Menschen im Namen der Religion ist im Rechts­staat ein Verbrechen. Religion rechtfertigt keine Übergriffe in die Rechte anderer. Translation: "The killing of another human being in the name of religion is a crime in the state of law. Religion does not justify attacks on the rights of others." – Volker Beck

In the Circumcision Debate he still denies, however, that religions engage here in the rights of others and that children are at all bearers of human rights:

“	Die Religionsfreiheit rechtfertigt keine Eingriffe in die Rechte Dritter. Dies ist auch bei der Be­schneidung nicht der Fall. Translation: "Freedom of religion does not justify interference with the rights of third parties. This is not the case with circumcision at all." – Volker Beck

Also in 2015, he recruited vehemently for the opening of marriage for all. On June 12, 2015, he stated on Facebook, little self-critical:

“	Wer gleiche Rechte verweigert, der verweigert auch gleiche Würde. Translation: "They who deny equal rights, also deny equal dignity." – Volker Beck

In 2017, he still engages for the "Marriage For All". On his Twitter account, he emphasizes this claim with the sentence:

“	Alles andere als Gleichberechtigung ist Diskriminierung! Translation: "Anything but equality is discrimination!" – Volker Beck (twitter.com)

Central Council of Jews in Germany

In the Circumcision Debate 2012, the Central Council of Jews in Germany had vehemently demanded to create a law that allows the ritual circumcision of boys. In the context of discussions on headscarf bans and the language in god houses, the current President of the Central Council of the Jews said in 2017:

“

Wir sollten davon absehen, für einzelne Religionsgemeinschaften spezielle Gesetze zu schaffen. [Allerdings sollte angestrebt werden, dass in allen Gotteshäusern, seien es Moscheen, seien es Kirchen oder Synagogen, in der Landessprache gepredigt wird.] Translation: "We should refrain from creating specific laws for individual religious communities. [However, it should be striven to be preached in the country language in all the god houses, be it mosques, churches or synagogues.]" – Josef Schuster, President of the Central Council of the Jews in Germany (Interview in the journal "Welt am Sonntag", 2017-04-22)

Waris Dirie

Waris Dirie (born 1965 in the region of Gaalkacyo, Somalya) is an Austrian model, author and human rights activist fighting against female genital mutilation (FGM). From 1997 to 2003, she served as a UN special ambassador against female genital cutting. In 2002 she founded her own organization in Vienna (Austria), the Desert Flower Foundation.

She rates circumcision unlike female genital mutilation. Waris Dirie commented on the circumcision of her son as follows:

“

We had Aleeke circumcised in the hospital a day after he was born. This is very different from female genital mutilation; that should never even be called circumcision – it’s not. In males it’s done for medical reasons – to ensure cleanliness. I could hear Aleeke crying when they did it, but he stopped as soon as I held him. Despite my strong feelings about FGM, I knew it was the right thing to do. My son has a beautiful penis. It looks so good and so clean. (Quoted after: Chantal J. Zabus: Between Rites and Rights. Excision in Women’s Experiential Texts and Human Contexts, S. 197)

Critics on HGM-related double standards

The German Greens politician and intactivist Ulf Dunkel has critized double standards of his party collegues in this context with several publications:

• Fangt endlich an, vom Kind her zu denken, (At last, start thinking from the child's point of view); in Der Freitag, March 20, 2016
• Noch mehr Doppelmoral, (Even more double standards), December 12, 2015
• Grüne Doppelmoral, (Green Double Standards), November 24, 2015 (Double Standard)