On 17 May 1990, the World Health Organisation (WHO) removed homosexuality from the International Classification of Diseases (ICD), thereby taking an important first step towards addressing and removing the stigma...
R v Michaela Community Schools Trust: Human Rights and Freedom of Religion in the UK
The relationship between Islam, religious freedom, and human rights has long been a subject of debate in Britain. However, the significance of the latest instalment in this saga, the judgment...
Detriment to Spirituality under the Equality Act 2010: On Banning Ritual Prayers in R v Michaela Community Schools Trust
A recent High Court judgment has ruled that a London school’s ban on ritual prayers does not indirectly discriminate against or interfere with Muslim students’ right to freedom of religion....
The Fundamental Rights of Trans and Nonbinary Minors in Schools: Challenges in Canada
The pernicious instinct to roll back the rights of trans and nonbinary folks for political gain has drifted north from the USA to Canada. Three provinces have recently announced reductions...
Resisting the Legal Assault on Transgender and Gender Non-Binary Students
Since the Supreme Court’s 2015 decision in Obergefell v Hodges striking down same-sex marriage bans across the United States, conservative States and localities—perhaps motivated by the politics of resentment stemming...
Rehabilitating Prisoners’ Human Rights: The Right to Education
Education is recognised as a human right for everyone, yet for prisoners it remains largely elusive. A recent interview with His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons (HMIP) painted a grim...
The erasure from Australian schools of education about LGBTIQA+ people
Australia achieved marriage equality in 2017. You would be forgiven for thinking that the next step on the journey towards achieving equality for LGBTIQA+ people would be that the school...
ACADEMIC FREEDOM AND FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION IN EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS
For her upcoming report to the Human Rights Council to be presented in June 2024, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to education, Ms. Farida Shaheed, will consider...
A Blueprint for the World: How Karnataka’s Shakti and Gruha Lakshmi Schemes Elevate Women’s Economic Rights
Karnataka, through its state government schemes, has taken proactive steps towards ensuring women’s welfare and equity. Among the five key schemes, the Shakti and the Gruha Lakshmi Scheme are particularly...
US Affirmative Action Series
On 29 June 2023, the Supreme Court of the United States, in a majority decision, held that race-based affirmative action programs in college admissions processes violate the Equal Protection Clause...
Minority v Minority Only Benefits the Privileged
The US Supreme Court’s decision Students for Fair Admissions v Presidents and Fellows of Harvard College (2023) dealt a blow to substantive equality in education. The petition claimed that providing...
The Miseries of Juvenile Prisoners of Bangladesh
Juvenile prisons in Bangladesh are effectively torture cells for teenage offenders. Known as juvenile development centres (JDC), the facilities of these institutions are chronically insufficient: overcrowded and understaffed, with poor...
