Caste-based Discrimination – It Still Exists
Supporters of the provision say caste discrimination crosses national and religious boundaries and that without such laws, those facing caste discrimination in the US will have no protections.
Photograph: Sajjad Hussain/AFP/Getty Images
Seattle has become the first city in the United States of America to ban caste-based discrimination. Who knew this would even be necessary?
Caste-based discrimination is something I am most aware of in Nepal where WDR partner, Kopila-Nepal, fights against the caste and gender-based discrimination which is crippling women in the lower caste and Dalit communities; socially, economically and just in terms of opportunities in life.
In Nepal, categorising people by their birth and occupation is largely a consequence of the Hindu tradition. Put simply, if you are lucky, you are born into a family in the higher ranks of the caste hierarchy. For you, life can be good as the trapping of high caste can be wealth, access to a good education and job, and opportunities to remain at the ‘top of the social pile’. If born into a lower caste, no matter your potential or ability, you have little chance of progressing because you are most likely to be discriminated against.
The practice can keep people poor and marginalised, and strip them of self-belief and hope for the future. The Government of Nepal abolished the practice in 1963. This included the banning of ostracising the Dalit community (previously, and unforgivably, labelled as the “untouchables”). However, bad habits are hard to break and many in Nepal society still follow or are being harmed by this practice.
Kopila-Nepal itself, takes no heed of caste, gender, economic status, ethnicity or religion. New staff are chosen on the basis of their heart and ability. Kopila advocates for equality, particularly for single mothers and widows. They organise women in the lower castes and Dalit communities into self-help groups for the purposes of solidarity, training and growing their collective voice. Those with disabilities and mental health issues are helped and there are three homes for women who have suffered gender-based violence. Work is also done in schools to teach young students about social injustices such as discrimination, alcoholism and violence that may be evident in their villages and homes. Children then write and learn dramas to educate their parents in the villages. The young teaching the old.
Kopila embrace the women of the lower castes and Dalit communities; helping them fulfil their potential.
The caste discrimination exhibited in Seattle is mostly amongst Indian migrants. There is a sub-continent diaspora of over 2.3 million in the US and about 5.4 million South Asians in general. Supporters of the new laws say that without the new legislation, those facing caste-based discrimination in the US would have no protection. However, some Hindu Americans see the laws as maligning a community that is already a target of prejudice. Interestingly, several universities in the US have, in the last few years, also felt it necessary to include caste in their non-discriminatory policies. Discrimination can be prevalent in diaspora communities as social alienation as well as discrimination in relation to housing, education and the tech sector where South Asians hold key roles.
On one level, the caste system is complex and hard to fully grasp. On another level it is very simple; it is wrong. It is never right to judge a person on artificially imposed measures of who is better than another. Of course, it is easy to point the finger at the practices of others. We must look at ourselves. Does our religion, social standing or economic status also lead us to discriminate against ‘the other’?
We applaud the Seattle lawmakers. It is a crime that legislation is needed. Who maintains the various forms of caste-based discrimination? It certainly isn’t the poor.
Written by Tim Dunwoody
Full original article on the Seattle situation can be found at https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/feb/21/seattle-ban-caste-based-discrimination