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12 August 2024

On the Basis of ‘Backwardness’

Following the reinstatement of a quota system that reserved 56% of vacancies in public service posts for former freedom fighters by the High Court of Bangladesh, students in Bangladesh have demanded reformation of the quota system.  On 21 July, the Supreme Court of Bangladesh overturned the decision by the High Court and ordered the government to limit the quota to 7%. It thereby eliminated the quota of 10%  previously reserved for women. This reflects a dangerously narrow conception of equality which could negatively impact Bangladesh’s use of special measures such as quotas to redress women’s subordinated status. Continue reading >>
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09 July 2023

Harvard’s Diversity Chicken Comes Home to Roost

The US Supreme Court's decision in Students for Fair Admission is a potential blessing. Diversity was always a problematic justification for race-based admissions programs. Diversity's origins are anti-Semitic. More likely, however, the decision will be a curse. The United States Supreme Court has made the pathway for disadvantaged minorities more difficult. Continue reading >>
27 November 2018

Affirmative Action in Malaysia: Constitutional Conflict with the ICERD?

Four days ago, Malaysia finally decided not to ratify the United Nations International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. This was preceded by massive protests against ratification. Why, one might ask? Is it really an unreasonable thing to hope for racial equality? An answer could lie in what Thomas Sowell once stated: “When people get used to preferential treatment, equal treatment seems like discrimination.” Continue reading >>
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