At the 81st Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) in Banjul, The Gambia, GFoD senior rights expert Alima Taal delivered a powerful statement addressing a pressing concern in African societies: discrimination based on work and descent. Alima highlighted the caste systems ingrained within various ethnic groups across the continent,…
The panel was chaired by Litha Musyimi, Commissioner of African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) during the NGO Forum ahead of 81st Session of the ACHPR on October 15, 2024 The NGO Forum ahead of 81st Session of African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR), held from October 13 to 15, 2024,…
In a landmark step towards fighting caste-based discrimination, New Jersey officially declared September 21 as Global Caste Awareness Day, following a resolution passed by the Jersey City Municipal Council. This significant move highlights the need to address caste-based discrimination, a pervasive issue affecting millions of people globally, particularly those in the South Asian diaspora. The…
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…
