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UK close to banning caste-based discrimination
March 31, 2010 19:54 IST
In a "historic" step, British Parliament has moved closer to amending
equality laws to declare as illegal caste-based discrimination, which
is also prevalent in India [ Images ], after the House of Lords
cleared the measure. The Equality Bill -- which unites the various
strands of diversity legislation, outlaws age discrimination and
requires businesses to report on the gender pay gap -- will now face
final consideration by the House of Commons prior to receiving royal
assent. It is expected to become law before the general election
expected in early May.
The House of Commons will consider the amendments suggested by the
House of Lords on April 6. Amendments made by the House of Lords
included a power to outlaw discrimination on the basis of caste; a ban
on asking for health and disability information prior to making a job
offer; and removing the ban on civil partnership ceremonies taking
place in religious premises. There has been mounting evidence of the
prevalence of caste-based discrimination among people with origins in
the Indian sub-continent.
After refusing to amend the laws for some years on the ground that
there was no evidence of such practice in Britain, the government has
now accepted that discrimination on grounds of caste may be happening.
Harriet Harman, Minister for Women and Equality, said: "I'm pleased
that the Equality Bill has completed its third reading in the House of
Lords. This is a historic piece of legislation that contains a range
of new rights, powers and obligations to help the drive towards
equality, including tackling the overarching inequality caused by
where you are born and what your parents do for a living."
The third reading is the final stage at which a bill can be amended
before it becomes law. Baroness Thornton has commissioned the National
Institute of Economic and Social Research to conduct research into the
subject.
Based on the evidence and research presented in the report, the
government is expected to amend equality laws and initiate measures to
prevent caste-based discrimination in the same way as discrimination
on grounds of sex, colour, religion, age and sexual orientation. Lord
Avebury, who belongs to the Liberal Democrats group, had moved the
amendment to the qualities Bill 2009, and said he believed the
research would "conclusively prove that caste discrimination does
occur in the fields covered by the bill".
Keith Porteous Wood, Executive Director of the National Secular
Society, said: "The blight of caste discrimination, under which
millions in India are regarded as 'untouchable'
country virtually unnoticed." In November 2009, research conducted by
academics at the universities of Manchester, Hertfordshire and
Manchester Metropolitan University said tens of thousands of people
with origins in the Indian sub-continent faced caste discrimination in
Britain.
The new study, whose main conclusion is that there is considerable
evidence of caste-based discrimination among the Asians in Britain,
was coordinated by the Anti-Caste Discrimination Alliance and included
academics from three universities. The report, titled 'Voice of the
Community – A Study into Caste and Caste Discrimination in the UK',
says that the caste system is widespread and that it affects tens of
thousands of people in the workplace, the classroom and even the
doctor's surgery.
The study says: "There is clear evidence from the survey and the focus
groups that the caste system has been imported into the UK with the
Asian diaspora and that the associated caste discrimination affects
citizens in ways beyond personal choices and social interaction.
"There is a danger that if the UK government does not effectively
accept and deal with the issue of caste discrimination the problem
will grow unchecked."
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