ABSTRACT
Practices such as female genital mutilation/cutting, child and early marriage, honour-related violence and son preference are often grouped by terms such as ‘harmful traditional practices’ or ‘harmful cultural practices’. However, these terms, as well as the narratives behind it, are not conducive to ending violence against women and girls. Drawing on a literature review as well as five case studies conducted within five international organisations, the chapter discusses how these terms hide the gendered nature of the practices, enforce colonialist discourse, create resistance in communities and have biases around religion that hide violence in privileged spaces.
