Polymorphous Discrimination: Rohingya Women in the Goggles of Intersectionality

Abstract

“Racism, xenophobia and unfair discrimination have spawned slavery, when human beings have bought and sold and owned and branded fellow human beings as if they were so many beasts of burden.” Desmond Tutu. The fact remains that global displacement is at a record high. Although many people cite violence and conflict as notable contributing factor to this humanitarian crises, it must be borne in mind that conflict does not just emerge. There are always subtle bombs awaiting triggers. An important condition that can fuel and sustain violent conflicts is the issue of systemic discrimination. But it remains a puzzle whether the world has really come to terms with the fact that discrimination (injustice anywhere) threatens justice everywhere. For this reason, the article attempted to apply intersectionality theory to the ordeal of Rohingya women in Rakhine State in Myanmar to identify the grounds on which Rohingya women are methodically discriminated. The paper revealed multi-faceted structural discrimination embedded in the social and cultural structures; religion and ethnicity (sexual violence); and legal, political and economic structures. These structures or conditions combines to exacerbate the burden of Rohingya women and children and often result in their displacement or forced asylum.