Minority Women Between Two Margins: Intersectional Justice in Land and Inheritance Disputes among Indigenous Communities

Abstract

Women belonging to indigenous communities may experience overlapping forms of disadvantage arising from gender, customary status, economic position, and minority identity. This article examines the intersectional dimensions of land and inheritance disputes involving indigenous women in Indonesia. The research seeks to determine whether legal frameworks addressing indigenous rights and gender equality are capable of responding to vulnerabilities that arise simultaneously from multiple identities. Employing an intersectional socio-legal methodology, the study analyzes constitutional provisions, customary law, statutory frameworks, judicial decisions, and selected disputes involving land and inheritance. The article argues that single-axis approaches to discrimination are inadequate because they may recognize either women's rights or indigenous rights while overlooking the interaction between the two. In certain circumstances, indigenous women may face exclusion from customary land while simultaneously experiencing institutional barriers when seeking protection through state law. Conversely, interventions designed exclusively around gender equality may weaken culturally specific forms of community governance without addressing the structural causes of dispossession. The study therefore proposes an intersectional model of minority justice that recognizes women's individual rights alongside collective indigenous rights. It concludes that effective legal protection requires institutions capable of identifying overlapping vulnerabilities and designing remedies that avoid reproducing either gender-based or cultural marginalization. The article contributes to intersectionality scholarship by applying the framework to property, inheritance, and indigenous justice in Indonesia.