This world belongs to different kinds of people having various social identities. When a person is born, several layers such as race, caste, sex, religion, nationality get attached to their identity organically. It remains with them till death. The interconnectedness of these factors results in an interdependent system of discrimination and disadvantage.
People experience the world and have been viewed by the world differently because of their overlapping identities. We should understand that this difference makes us beautiful, and nobody is supreme to each other. Any form of prejudice performed taints the foundation of universalism and humanity. In 1989, the term ‘intersectionality’ came into existence, coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw. It carves out the persecution of people because of their various characteristics that overlap with each other. Though discrimination in any form is outlawed, its practice still tyrannizes our modern society. Bigotry and hatred based on these factors directly affect the mental health of the people identifying as one.
Recently, the protest of Black Lives Matter took the world by storm. This movement fought against the culturally ingrained racism in the world. History has witnessed that due to skin complexion, black people faced oppression and deprivation of rights. In this 21st century, there is nothing more unfortunate than a human being exploiting another human based on their disparate individualities. Discerning people based on their background and identity not only shows the backwardness of thoughts. It also points towards a spineless attitude. In some countries, the marginalized communities still feel threatened. They have to face oppression based on their religion and sometimes on nationality. There are many cases of hostility registered on religion-based cruelty.
The obnoxious impact of inequality and discrimination has only resulted in children from the marginalized community, including households with humans with disabilities, ostracized and vulnerable to education exclusion due to poverty. It is such an enormous cost for a thing that is carry forwarded and just assigned to them.
Women all over the world have always been a central target in this patriarchal society. The fact that there is not only one kind of woman but heterogeneous groups of women turns the situation worse. All of them, coming from various sections, are battling different fears and violence. Asian women face racism. Disabled women face ableism and sexism. Dalit women face casteism and sexism. Trans women face transphobia. Black women have faced hatred, distrust, and systematic racism. Instead of warding off their concerns, the multiplying rates of crime are fostering it.
Due to voice suppression and under-representation, heinous crimes like trafficking, stalking, sexual violence, harassment, child and forced marriage, and domestic violence are still pervasive. Every woman’s battleground compromises different experiences based on a varying system of oppression. It has led to disadvantage and deprivation for ages.
Disadvantaging people for no offense and just because of their unique characteristics is the worst kind of behavior. The only thing that can serve as justice to such people is social equity. To prevent this exploitation, Various underlying challenges and heterogeneous forms of people belonging to communities need consideration while implementing policies.
For a compassionate world, complete abolishment of untouchability and racism is necessary. Implementation of a framework that considers dynamic data sets of people hailing from different backgrounds can resolve this issue. But a change in mentality and acceptance of people from diverse backgrounds can uproot this issue, in a way that no people in the future feel ostracized. And, we humans should empower each other, rather than disrespect each other.