Abstract
Welcome to this issue of the International Journal of Discrimination and the Law which, as always, carries some insightful and thought-provoking contributions from scholars around the world.
In their article ‘Access to Justice for Nigerian Women: A Veritable Tool for Achieving Sustainable Development’, Olaitan Olusegun and Olatunji Oyelade consider the application of the concept of access to justice and its role in achieving sustainable development for women in Nigeria. By identifying the challenges within Nigeria’s justice system and outlining how these challenges pose barriers to women’s access to justice, the authors argue that urgent action is required if Nigeria is to achieve its sustainable development goals by 2030.
Dumisani Ngoma considers the enduring impacts of the HIV epidemic on the Zambian workforce in his article ‘Combating workplace discrimination on the basis of HIV status through disability law in Zambia’. Zambia does not have any specific legislation that directly addresses and prohibits discrimination based on HIV/AIDS in the workplace leaving many vulnerable to discrimination without redress. Ngoma argues that those suffering discrimination on the basis of their HIV/AIDS status should find protection under existing disability discrimination law.
Ulaş Sunata’s article explores ‘Legal Gender Recognition in Turkey’, taking as its starting point recent European advances in transgender rights. In considering the current legal regime in Turkey the author argues that, despite the appearance of positive reform, the rights of transgender people are not fully recognised – a position that is reflected in the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights.
Our case commentary section contains two notes on the landmark case of Lt Col Nitisha v Union of India which was heard by the Supreme Court of India in 2021. Vandita Khanna provides a critical assessment of the case’s contribution to the area of indirect discrimination. Gauri Pillai argues that despite the significant contribution made by Nitisha in developing the constitutional understanding of non-discrimination, further development of the concept is required including the test for justifying indirect discrimination.
We hope you enjoy engaging with the rich insights offered by all the contributions in this Issue as much as we have.