Nussbaum promotes a universalist view to women’s issues, arguing that tradition perpetrates injustice against women with examples of women being less likely to be literate or have a quality of life as good as a man’s in all countries. Nussbaum then addresses anti-universalist beliefs which argue that some cultures cannot hold the same level of female equality due to local traditions and customs. She responds that all societies should use a list of human abilities as a basis for social rights. She then concludes that women in much of the world “lack support for the most central human functions,” but given “sufficient nutrition, education, and other support,” women could attain these functions.
