Educational Access as a Foundation of Rights

Sor Juana's entire life was shaped by educational inequality. Denied admission to university because of her sex, she taught herself Latin, theology, philosophy, and science through observation, reading, and intellectual correspondence. She explicitly connected education to rights, arguing that knowledge was necessary for virtue and that denying it to women was both unjust and irrational. This concept affirms that fairness requires universal educational access. When entire groups are excluded from learning, they are also excluded from citizenship, professional opportunity, and participation in collective decisions. Historical analysis shows that every step toward broader justice has involved expanding who gets to learn what. Sor Juana's insistence that women's minds were equal to men's, and therefore women deserved education, remains foundational. Modern fairness depends on treating education not as a privilege for the few but as a right enabling all people to develop their capacities and contribute meaningfully to society.