The assertion of human rights—particularly to education, knowledge, and intellectual freedom—as fundamental claims that poverty cannot and should not restrict.
Sor Juana's life work asserted rights before modern human rights frameworks existed: the right to study, to engage with complex ideas, to respond to intellectual challenge, to author her own thought. She claimed these rights through assertion and practice despite institutional denial. This concept frames poverty as a violation of rights rather than an individual condition, positioning access to knowledge, education, and intellectual space as non-negotiable entitlements. Rights-based approaches shift responsibility from poor individuals to structural systems. Sor Juana's tradition demands that societies recognize intellectual freedom and educational access as rights, not privileges contingent on economic status. Practically, this involves advocating for free quality education, open knowledge access, intellectual freedom protections, and cultural recognition that poverty is a rights violation demanding systemic remedy. The concept empowers those in poverty to frame their situation not as personal inadequacy but as systemic rights denial, legitimizing claims for justice. It transforms identity from shame-based acceptance of poverty to rights-based demand for dignity and intellectual agency.
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