Justice as Correction of Systemic Inequality

Sor Juana did not ask for personal favor or charity; she demanded justice—the recognition that systems themselves were unjust and required transformation. She critiqued how institutions (the Church, the state, patriarchal society) created the conditions for women's oppression. This distinction is crucial for children's rights. It is insufficient to celebrate individual children who escape poverty or abuse; justice requires dismantling systems that create childhood vulnerability. Child labor exists because economic systems exploit the powerless. Child abuse persists because power structures protect perpetrators. Educational inequality reflects systemic resource allocation. Sor Juana teaches that justice is not benevolence but the restructuring of institutions to eliminate the roots of injustice. For children's rights, this means advocating for legal protections, economic policies, educational funding, and cultural change—not merely asking those in power to be kinder to children.