Leadership for social justice has been receiving increasing attention in recent years as more and more scholars have explored the ways by which educational leaders can lead for social justice in schools (e.g. Arar, 2015; Ayers, Quin, & Stovall, 2009; Fua, 2007; Furman, 2012; Jean-Marie, Normore, & Brooks, 2009; Lindsey & Lindsey, 2011; Oplatka, 2013; Stevenson, 2007). It is widely claimed that social justice leaders serve traditional marginalized societies, dismantle long-standing norms that privilege certain students, promote change and encourage reflection (Shields, 2003). Given the unique features of traditional societies, coupled with the understanding that leadership practice is a fluid phenomenon that changes from one context to another (Garratt & Forrester, 2012; Oplatka, 2004; Spillane, 2006; Taysum & Gunter, 2008), the purpose of this article is threefold: (1) to re-visit the universal applicability of the leadership for social justice construction grounded in dominant western ideologies and values; (2) to highlight plausible contradictions between the principles underlying leadership for social justice in its "western" meanings and basic characteristics of traditional society; and (3) to suggest an initial alternative conceptualization of leadership for social justice in educational systems of traditional societies that is grounded substantially in the culture and structure of these societies.