The worldwide human rights dialogue exists through high-level abstract thinking combined with belief in worldwide values. Practical implementation of this vision has repeatedly shown its inadequacy when it comes to addressing multidimensional forms of social inequalities which shape human experiences. The human rights discourse has maintained fragmentation because it studies specific problems without acknowledging how individual rights intersect with factors such as gender and race along with social standing. Intersectionality presents itself as a transformative perspective for studying as well as resolving human rights through an inclusive framework that ensures equity.

The contemporary human rights movement uses worldwide declarations together with multilateral institutions to guide its direction which includes the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) from 1948. These established frameworks functioned to develop one unified foundation of justice and dignity enforcement. Their execution remains irregular because geopolitical realities and former colonial influence have influenced their implementation.

Western cultural viewpoints have consistently controlled these historical records by choosing individual autonomy over collective and cultural elements. Numerous states located in the Global South encounter challenges because what is presented as universal human rights does not align with their actual social situations. The practical execution of rights enforcement system maintains global economic disparities because it fails to listen to less privileged communities.

Introduction to Intersectionality: A Tool for Justice

In 1989 legal scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw introduced the concept of intersectionality which admits discrimination operates differently when different dimensions such as gender, race and class form complex combinations. This methodology expands beyond basic equality understandings that treat various aspects as independent layers because it demonstrates their interconnectedness and strengthening effects.

International relations becomes more comprehensible when you analyze it through an intersectional perspective that exposes the fundamental systemic inequalities which affect global politics and human rights. International agreements usually feature broad universal human rights standards yet they do not recognize how different individual identities intersect to affect such rights. Women of color living in developing nations encounter specified barriers which differ from those experienced by white women in developed nations because of economic violence and historical injustice and sociopolitical marginalization.

The main advantage of intersectionality as a tool emerges from its capacity to pinpoint weaknesses in current standards while creating better inclusive alternatives. The problem of climate change serves as an example. The technical nature of environmental policies does not address the manner in which women from impoverished areas experience disproportionate climate displacement because they draw their income from natural resources. The concept of intersectionality enables us to place these vulnerabilities at the forefront and drive climate justice efforts aimed at providing strong support to disadvantaged groups while distributing resources fairly.

The case of labor rights demonstrates this point especially during the ongoing process of globalization. Laboring female workers in Bangladesh alongside those in Indonesia end up suffering from abusive workplace conditions where they earn low incomes rather than gaining protection from gender-based violence. The combination of racial along with economic inequalities demands a strategic approach to fight gender discrimination while resolving extensive structural hardships in global supply networks.

Intersectionality and the Global South

Adopting an intersectional perspective represents an absolute necessity for the Global South countries including Indonesia because it allows them to address systemic inequalities. The diverse ethnic and religious communities and gender groups belonging to Indonesia provide an ideal context for studying how intersectionality should shape public policy decisions. The design of better solutions for policymakers becomes possible through intersectional analysis because it helps them understand the complex dynamics of indigenous land rights and gender-based violence issues.

Women living in rural regions continue to endure multiple forms of discrimination because of their combined sex-based persecution with both their ethnic background and economic situations. An inclusive empowerment strategy needs education and healthcare services and financial support to challenge patriarchal colonial systems that maintain women's social exclusion.

The adoption of intersectional theory possesses revolutionary power to revolutionize both human rights understanding and practical methods of their implementation. The international community can transform superficial activism into genuine transformation by adopting this structural framework. Constructing new political institutions and structural frameworks should take priority because the existing global systems have extended their governance through time.

The successful implementation of intersectionality into human rights discourse needs to move beyond theoretical progress to deliver concrete changes. The process necessitates two key efforts which involve giving marginalized groups a platform to speak and pursuing equitable resource distribution systems while also making powerful actors responsible for their systematic inequality creation.

Conclusion

Extensive global human rights obstacles currently exist yet these obstacles remain overcomeable. The systematic elimination of access barriers will become possible through our adoption of intersectionality approaches. Global South countries including Indonesia have a chance to restore their authority in international relations through an approach that supports diverse human rights components of worldwide populations.

Using intersectionality enables powerful tools to evaluate established systems in a new way. The current social and environmental challenges demand an intersectional approach because it represents a mandatory requirement to address deepening inequality.


Note: This article was extracted from The Inaugural Speech at the Professorship Ceremony in the Field of Gender and Human Rights in International Relations, Universitas Indonesia, delivered by Prof. Dr. Dra. Ani Widyani Soetjipto, M.A. in December 2024, available here. The original text was written in Indonesian, and online tools were used to translate it into English.