Seattle becomes first city outside South Asia to ban caste discrimination

A majority of those present in council chambers were supporters of the ordinance and those opposed were a vocal minority.

The Seattle City Council on Tuesday added caste to the city’s anti-discrimination laws (John Froschauer/AP)

Seattle has become the first US city to ban caste discrimination and the first in the world to pass such a law outside South Asia.

Calls to outlaw discrimination based on caste, a division of people based on birth or descent, have grown louder among South Asian diaspora communities in the United States.