Seattle becomes first US city to ban caste discrimination
- Seattle’s move addresses an issue important to the area’s South Asian diaspora
- India’s caste system is among the world’s oldest forms of rigid social stratification
The Seattle City Council on Tuesday added caste to the city’s anti-discrimination laws, becoming the first US city to specifically ban caste discrimination.
Calls to outlaw discrimination based on caste, a division of people based on birth or descent, have grown louder among South Asian diaspora communities in the United States. But the movement is getting pushback from some Hindu Americans who argue that such legislation maligns a specific community.
Proponents of the ordinance that was approved by a 6-1 vote Tuesday say caste discrimination crosses national and religious boundaries and that without such laws, those facing caste discrimination in the US will have no protections.
The ordinance is a contentious issue, especially among the nation’s South Asian diaspora. Supporters argue it is needed because caste is not covered under existing civil rights protections. Groups opposing the measure say it will malign a community that is already the target of prejudice.
Council Member Kshama Sawant, a socialist and the only Indian-American on the City Council, said the ordinance, which she proposed, does not single out one community, but it accounts for how caste discrimination crosses national and religious boundaries.
“Caste discrimination doesn’t only take place in other countries. It is faced by South Asian-American and other immigrant working people in their workplaces, including in the tech sector, in Seattle and in cities around the country,” Sawant said.