California lawmakers have voted to outlaw discrimination based on caste.
is an ancient, complex system that regulates people's social status based on their birth. It's primarily associated with India and Hinduism, but caste-based divisions are also found in other faiths and countries.
Tuesday, the state Senate voted 31-5 to approve a bill that would redefine “ancestry” to include “lineal descent, heritage, parentage, caste, or any inherited social status.” The bill was authored by state Sen. Aisha Wahab, the first Muslim and Afghan-American woman elected to the state Legislature. India has banned caste discrimination since 1948, the year after it won independence from Great Britain. In recent years, South Asians have been pushing for caste protections on the U.S. Many major U.S. colleges and universities have added caste to their non-discrimination policies, including the University of California and California State University systems. In February,Now, California could become the first state to do so.
Five Republicans voted against the bill on Tuesday, saying the bill would prompt the government and others to inappropriately judge people of South Asian descent. State Sen. Shannon Grove, a Republican from Bakersfield, noted caste was a complex system with no universally agreed definition.The vote was one of the first major bills to pass the Legislature during the hectic final two weeks of the legislative session. Lawmakers have until Sept.
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