The Seattle Metropolis Council voted 6-1 on Tuesday so as to add caste as a protected class within the metropolis’s anti-discrimination legal guidelines, making it the primary metropolis within the U.S. to outlaw such discrimination.
Kshama Sawant, a member of the Socialist Different social gathering and the one Indian American on the Seattle Metropolis Council, circulated a petition within the lead-up to the vote that mentioned “caste discrimination stays a largely hidden and unreported problem.”
“Caste discrimination is a widespread and more and more grave contributor to office discrimination and bias confronted by South Asian Individuals and different immigrants—not simply in different international locations, however right here in Seattle and throughout the US,” the petition reads.
Councilmember Kshama Sawant speaks about her proposed ordinance to outlaw caste discrimination throughout a public listening to within the Seattle Metropolis Council chambers, Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023, in Seattle. (AP Picture/John Froschauer)
India’s caste system dates again hundreds of years, stratifying folks into social lessons based mostly off start, although the nation banned discrimination based mostly off caste in 1948.
“Nearly all of the affected communities reside in or originate from South Asia, together with India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, the place many are recognized by the self-chosen identification of ‘Dalits,’ which suggests ‘those that have been damaged however are resilient’ and others are indigenous or indentured group members,” the ordinance that was handed on Tuesday explains.
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The ordinance did face appreciable pushback from Seattle residents, with the Hindu American Basis arguing {that a} sure vote quantities to “discriminating in opposition to ethnic minorities.”
“All through our 20 years of existence, HAF has maintained that caste discrimination is incorrect, violating core Hindu ideas of the divine oneness of all beings,” Hindu American Basis Government Director Suhag Shukla mentioned in an announcement on Tuesday. “On the identical time, we keep that the singling out of South Asians and addition of ‘caste’ to non-discrimination coverage violates the very insurance policies it now amends.”
Thenmozhi Soundararajan, founder and government director of Equality Labs, speaks to supporters and opponents of a proposed ordinance so as to add caste to Seattle’s anti-discrimination legal guidelines rally at Seattle Metropolis Corridor, Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023, in Seattle. (AP Picture/John Froschauer)
A handful of faculties all through the U.S. have added caste to their anti-discrimination insurance policies, together with the California State College System, Colby Faculty, Brown College, and Brandeis College.
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Sawant framed the passing of Tuesday’s ordinance as a “historic, first-in-the-nation ban” that may unfold elsewhere.
“Now we have to construct a motion to unfold this victory across the nation,” she tweeted.
The Related Press contributed to this report.
