South Asian Bar Association has backed the ordinance on caste discrimination proposed by the Seattle City Council.
Seattle City Council Member Kshama Sawant talks to reporters after the council passed the anti-caste-discrimination ordinance. (Supplied)
The South Asian Bar Association (SABA) of North America has come out in support of the proposed ordinance on caste discrimination introduced by Seattle City Council member Kshama Sawant on 24 January.
In a statement on Friday, 17 February, SABA applauded the leadership of the City of Seattle for its commitment to creating a more inclusive and equitable community.
“The proposed Seattle ordinance aims to protect individuals form discrimination based on their caste or perceived caste, and it is an important step in ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to thrive and reach their full potential,” the statement read.
Further acknowledging the deep entrenchment of the problem of caste discrimination, SABA said that “this type of discrimination can prevent people from accessing employment, education, healthcare, and other opportunities, limiting their ability to fully participate in society”.
Ever since the infamous case of caste discrimination against Cisco Systems Inc in 2020, there has been a clamour to include caste as a legal category in the non-discrimination policies of institutions across North America.
As part of these efforts, Kshama Sawant, a member of the City Council of Seattle, proposed a draft ordinance prohibiting caste discrimination.
The Ambedkar International Centre (AIC) — a US-based civil rights group dedicated to fighting caste oppression — had worked closely with Sawant, the Coalition of Seattle Indian-Americans (CSIA), Equality Labs, the Ambedkarite Buddhist Association of Texas, Boston Study Group, Ambedkar Kings Study Circle, and the Ambedkar Association of North America (AANA), to help draft the proposed ordinance.
This move by Council member Kshama Sawant was also commended by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin.
Moreover, many universities and colleges in North America have already added caste to its non-discriminatory policy, explicitly prohibiting caste discrimination within their campuses.
Recently, Brown University became the first Ivy League university to outlaw caste discrimination.
Lending support to this growing movement, SABA said that “by taking action to ban caste discrimination, the City of Seattle will be sending a message that it will not tolerate any form of discrimination, and that everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect”.
