Following its local council vote, Seattle becomes the first US city to outlaw caste discrimination. The council voted to add caste to the city’s anti-discrimination laws. Goes without saying, it addresses a huge issue pertaining to the South Asian diaspora, especially the Indian and Hindu communities.
The US has started to take note of the fact that the Indian caste system is rigidly stratified and one of Seattle’s council members said the fight against caste discrimination was a fight against all forms of oppression.
More and more Americans and legislators have been advocating for the law as they feel caste discrimination takes place even in other countries. It has been understood that it is faced by South Asian communities and other immigrants in workplaces including the tech sector, not just in Seattle but in cities across the US.
Research has shown that Dalits or those from lower castes were under-represented in higher-paying jobs. Activists and those opposing the age-old system say that caste discrimination is no different from racism and hence needs to be outlawed. Till now, US laws ban ancestry discrimination, but not casteism in particular.
Equality Labs who have fought for anti-caste discrimination resolution in Seattle and has been spearheading a campaign across the nation has said that ‘Love won over hate’, adding that they braved rape threats, disinformation, and bigotry to see the council passing the ban with a six to one vote. It has to be noted that the law was written and piloted by Kshama Sawant who is the only Indian American member of the council.
