Reconciling Indigenous Justice and Women’s Rights within Legal Pluralism:
Challenges under International Human Rights Law
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.9732/2025.V131.1409Palabras clave:
Justiça Indígena; Mulheres Indígenas; Pluralismo Jurídico; Direito Internacional dos Direitos Humanos; Igualdade de GêneroResumen
The present article examines issues related to indigenous women’s right of access to justice within legal pluralist contexts, highlighting the tension between the cultural relevance of traditional systems and the risks posed by patriarchal customary norms. The analysis begins by reviewing the international legal framework recognizing indigenous peoples as distinct rights-holders, with a focus on the 2007 UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), which reframed the relationship between collective and individual rights. It then examines the evolving practice developed by treaty bodies under relevant universal treaties. Special attention is given to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the only legal instrument that explicitly applies a gender lens. Building on this, the article identifies two main models: one prioritizing women’s individual rights, which calls for limiting indigenous jurisdiction, and another adopting a more balanced approach. Finally, it argues that this latter model, mainly advocated by the CEDAW Committee and increasingly supported by UN Special Procedures, reflects an emerging standard that can guide States in adopting legal frameworks that uphold indigenous self-government while simultaneously protecting women’s fundamental rights, through a collaborative approach between traditional and national justice systems that actively engages women.
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