‘Caste’ discrimination to become unlawful

Did you know that the definition of Race in the Equality Act 2010 now includes ‘caste’ and do you know why?

The Government has amended the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act to add ‘caste’ to the definition of the protected characteristic of ‘race’ in the Equality Act 2010. This now makes caste discrimination unlawful.

This comes after the House of Lords voted on 22 April 2013 in favour of the amendment for a second time. The existing definition of race in the Equality Act 2010 included race, as well as colour, nationality, and ethnic or national origins, but not ‘caste’. This move is a reversal of the Government’s previous announcement on 1 March 2013 that it would deal with the issue of caste discrimination informally through an educational programme, and not via legislation.

Campaigners had said legislation was needed because thousands of people suffered abuse and prejudice because they were considered low caste. They said existing laws offered no protection and said caste divided society unfairly, with those at the bottom expected to do dirty, poorly paid work while also being expected to, and forced to, look up to and respect higher castes. Those arguing for action said such discrimination was outlawed in India and should be banned in Britain too. 

The government has asked the Equality and Human Rights Commission to examine the nature of caste prejudice and harassment, and consider what other action might be helpful. The commission will publish its findings later in 2013. 

There is an interesting article on the BBC website about caste discrimination. This includes a video clip of people affected by caste prejudice in Britain who spoke on BBC's ‘Newsnight’ programme.

To read the article and see the video clip, click here