The caste system is a hierarchal social construction that determines an individual’s standing in society at start. It has roots in Hinduism, however later proliferated to members of different faiths in South Asia. Practising “untouchability” — or discrimination — towards members of the bottom caste within the South Asian order, often called Dalits or “untouchables,” was outlawed in India many years in the past. But it surely stays entrenched in society and related practices have adopted the South Asian diaspora neighborhood to america and elsewhere.
There are greater than 150,000 individuals from South Asia dwelling in Washington state, with many primarily based within the Larger Seattle space, town council stated.
South Asians have confronted discrimination on the premise of caste in workplaces and schooling institutes, some U.S.-based activists say.
“It’s a nationwide downside,” stated Thenmozhi Soundararajan, director of Equality Labs, a Dalit civil rights teams in California. She stated her group has surveyed tons of of employees who stated they’ve skilled “caste slurs in workplaces, bullying and harassment, sexual harassment, demotion to retaliation and even firing.”
The Seattle measure was opposed by the Hindu American Basis, which stated that it was towards caste-based discrimination however argued that the measure would single out their neighborhood.
