The rights of minority women before the European Court of Human Rights: Critical review in light of the practice of the UN Human Rights Committee and other international human rights bodies

Abstract

Women from ethnic, national, religious, and cultural minorities face distinct legal challenges in their struggle for gender equality. They are at constant risk of multiple discrimination as minority women, particularly with regard to their identity and religious rights. This is evident in matters of inheritance, wearing religious items in public, and issues related to sexual and domestic violence. International approaches to this problem are fragmented, with the ECtHR, UN HRC, and other international human rights bodies taking different approaches. This article will critically discuss the status of minority women's rights in the jurisprudence of the ECtHR and will reflect on what the Court could learn from the practices of the UN HRC and other international human rights bodies.

Keywords

• double burden
• minority women
• intersectional discrimination
• religious female identity
• right to self-identification