At the Global Conference for a Caste Free World 2025, held in Toronto, Paul Divakar Namala delivered a powerful address that spotlighted the enduring global crisis of caste and descent-based discrimination. His speech, titled “Addressing Caste and Descent-Based Discrimination: A Global Imperative,” weaving together deep historical insight, lived experiences of oppressed communities, appealed for an…
World leaders gathered in New York from September 22-26, 2024, to discuss and adopt a Pact for the Future that includes a Global Digital Compact and a Declaration on Future Generations. The Pact covers several themes such as peace and security, sustainable development, climate change, digital cooperation, human rights, gender, youth, and the transformation of…
This is the third in a three-part interview series with Ephraim Ogwu. Read part one and part two here. Ephraim Ogwu’s journey as an advocate for Communities Discriminated on Work and Descent (CDWD) in Africa has been deeply informed by the lessons learned from other African communities facing similar struggles. “Intersectionality in advocacy is crucial,”…
One of the first questions when talking about any marginalized community across the world is about their population, distribution, and the data to support these facts. But what if such data is not available? What if the marginalized community is not even recognized as such? What if the government outrightly dismisses any claims made by…
Editor’s note: Across West Africa, several ethnic groups, including the Tuareg, Wolof, Mandinka, Bambara, Fulani, Soninké, Hausa, and Zarma, maintain rigid social hierarchies often described as caste systems. In these societies, the ‘nobles’ are regarded as freeborn, while ‘slaves,’ descendants of captive slaves and the slave trade, continue to face discrimination and remain vulnerable to…
