Peradaban Journal of Law and Society
Vol. 4 No. 1 (2025)

Rethinking Same-Sex Marriage in the Global South: A Postcolonial Critique of Human Rights Universalism

Tohari, Ilham (Unknown)
Zulkarnain, Muhammad Sulthon (Unknown)



Article Info

Publish Date
25 Jun 2025

Abstract

This article explores the influence of global political will on the legalization of same-sex marriage in Third World countries, using a postcolonial and decolonial theoretical framework. By engaging with the critical perspectives of Talal Asad and Frantz Fanon, it examines how international human rights norms—particularly those framed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)—are often promoted as universal values rooted in Western liberal-secular traditions. The article argues that such norms, when imposed without sensitivity to local histories, cultures, and legal traditions, risk reproducing colonial patterns of epistemic domination. Asad critiques secularism as a hegemonic discourse that erases religious and communal legal frameworks, while Fanon identifies the persistence of colonial power through normative violence embedded in global law. The article calls for a dialogical and pluralistic approach to the globalization of human rights—one that respects normative sovereignty, acknowledges epistemic diversity, and avoids reducing justice to legal conformity with Western models.

Copyrights © 2025






Journal Info

Abbrev

PJLS

Publisher

Subject

Religion Humanities Law, Crime, Criminology & Criminal Justice Social Sciences

Description

Peradaban Journal of Law and Society (PJLS) is an open access and peer reviewed journal provides space for studies in the field of law and its various aspects in society. PJLS is committed to being an important resource in the study of academics and practitioners as well as researchers in the world ...