A hereditary social class system where membership is determined by birth and typically restricts marriage and occupation. Most famously associated with Hindu society.
From Portuguese 'casta' meaning 'race, lineage,' from Latin 'castus' meaning 'pure, chaste.' Portuguese colonizers used this term to describe Hindu social stratification in 16th century India.
The irony of the word 'caste' is that it was coined by Portuguese colonizers who themselves had rigid social hierarchies - they saw Hindu social stratification through the lens of their own obsession with blood purity and noble lineage.
Caste systems subordinate women within each tier; women face compounded discrimination from caste-based violence (honor killings, sexual assault) and property exclusion justified by caste hierarchy.
When discussing caste, center intersectionality: caste discrimination compounds with gender-based violence and economic exclusion. Avoid treating caste and gender as separate axes.
["caste-gender oppression","hierarchical systems"]
Dalit, Bahujan, and lower-caste women activists (Phoolagupta, Savitribai Phule) led resistance to caste-gender oppression; their organizing reshaped social justice discourse.
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