Impact of Public Health Measures on Muslims in India and International Human Rights Law: Derogations, Limitations and Justifications

The COVID-19 pandemic made the fight against “leaving nobody behind” even more difficult, by exacerbating existing inequities and discrimination. Discrimination and inequality have no geographical bounds; they exist in varied forms in different social contexts. The widening inequality gaps caused by COVID-19 have severe ramifications for fundamental human rights, including the right to life and, most significantly, access to healthcare, education, and employment. The impacts of these inequities are already noticeable and continue to unfold in the near future. The “Coronavirus stigma,” which is based on racial, religious, and gender grounds, has also been fueled by fear and uncertainty about the pandemic. This has exposed, in particular, the vulnerability of those living in precarious situations and marginalised groups, such as individuals with disabilities, women, children, refugees, and migrants. Therefore, this paper seeks to analyse the profound consequences of these problems, propose essential steps for combatting inequality in a novel way, and recommend strategies to lessen the effects of inequality and discrimination in the post-pandemic era.