The Right to Know as Justice

Sor Juana fought for her right to study, question, and know—understanding that knowledge exclusion was a tool of oppression and injustice. This principle translates directly to anti-corruption work: corruption thrives in darkness. Citizens cannot hold institutions accountable without access to information about budgets, decisions, and processes. The right to know becomes a justice issue because denying people information about how power operates enables systemic theft and abuse. Sor Juana's defense of her intellectual pursuits models how defending access to knowledge is not merely academic—it is fundamentally about power and fairness. Modern applications include freedom of information laws, public records access, whistleblower protections, and educational equity. When societies restrict who can know and learn, they create hierarchies where some benefit from hidden information while others remain vulnerable to exploitation.