Ask Governor Newsom and California Electeds to Support SB-403 to End Caste in California

Ask Governor Newsom and California Electeds to Support SB-403 to End Caste in California

Started
March 23, 2023
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This petition made change with 8,778 supporters!

Why this petition matters

We are writing as concerned citizens and coalition members of Californians for Caste Equity to request your support for the new bill California SB403 introduced by State Senator Aisha Wahab (D-Hayward), which would end caste discrimination in the state of California. This bill aims to clarify existing state law and make explicit that discrimination based on caste is illegal. 

By way of background, caste refers to an individual’s perceived position in a system of social stratification on the basis of inherited status characterized by factors that may include, but are not limited to, inability or restricted ability to alter inherited status; socially enforced restrictions on marriage, private and public segregation, and discrimination; and social exclusion on the basis of perceived status.

It impacts over 1.9 billion people in South Asia and 5.7 million South Asian Americans. Caste discrimination is present across South Asia and the South Asian diaspora as well as around the world. While caste systems are strongly associated with South Asia, similar systems exist in South America, Asia, and Africa. 

Data from Equality Labs shows 1 in 4 caste-oppressed people have faced physical and verbal violence, 1 in 3 have faced education discrimination, and 2 out of 3 are impacted by workplace discrimination. 

In California, caste discrimination occurs across industries, including technology, education, construction, restaurants, domestic work, and the medical and legal fields. Caste discrimination against Dalits - people formerly called "untouchables" by dominant castes - includes bullying, harassment, bias, wage theft, sexual harassment, housing discrimination, and even trafficking. 

Given the grave discrimination that caste-oppressed Californians face, caste equity has received broad-based bipartisan support including organizations like California Labor Federation, California Faculty Association, Alphabet Workers Union, Metoo Movement, Tech Equity Collaborative, Stop AAPI Hate, and many others. Caste equity has uniquely been endorsed by the South Asian Bar Association of North America the legal voice of South Asian Americans in the United States. and the UN Rapporteur for Racism and Minority Rights. 

As a matter of urgent civil rights we the undersigned urge Governor Newsom and California electeds to support SB403 and end caste discrimination in California. We believe that a united California can and will lead the nation to make civil rights history!

 

 

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