US: Seattle Becomes The First City To Ban Caste Discrimination

In a historic moment, Seattle becomes the first city to ban caste discrimination. Seattle is explicitly banning discrimination on the basis of caste and the ordinance is approved on Tuesday.

The approved ordinance includes caste as a protected class, alongside other categories such as race, religion, and gender identity.

The new law prohibits caste discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations. It also allows the caste-oppressed people in the city to lodge complaints of discrimination.

Needless to say, Casteism is a form of discrimination that typically operates within South Asian communities. The caste system originated in ancient India but it is virtually found in South Asian countries and religious communities. The caste-based discrimination is still a problem in modern India.

South Asians are one of the fastest-growing immigrant groups in the US, and caste bias and discrimination have become more prevalent. Seattle has relevance with caste with a large number of Tech companies and thousands of South Asian immigrants employed every year.

Though the ordinance has received broad support, there is opposition by groups Hindus of North America, the Hindu American Foundation, and the Vishva Hindu Parishad Of America. They argue that this legislation triggers harmful misconceptions of them and unfairly singled out Hindus.

‘This was a winning century in the making and it was really the fruition of many years of organizing in Seattle across racial and gender and worker lines It’s also proof that the South Asian community wants to heal from caste.’ said Thenmozhi Soundararajan, executive director of the Dalit advocacy organization Equality Labs.