Sikh couple told they can’t adopt white baby ‘ because they’re Asian’
A SIKH couple who say they were told they could not adopt a white child because of their Indian heritage went to court yesterday.
Sandeep and Reena Mander, who were both born in Britain, say social workers advised them they might have better luck if they tried to adopt a child from India.
The couple, who have been unable to have a child of their own, were willing to give a home to a child of any race.
They attended an introductory seminar in late 2015 given by their local adoption agency, Adopt Berkshire, which professed a welcoming attitude to all prospective adoptive parents regardless of race or sexual orientation, and they were encouraged to submit an application, Oxford County Court heard.
Later, Mr Mander, a sales manager, rang the adoption agency and was asked to identify his ethnic origin.
He said that when he stated that both he and his wife were born and raised in Britain but that their parents were born in India, he was told that they were unlikely to be approved as potential adopters due to their ‘Indian background’, because only white children were available in Berkshire and the surrounding area.
The couple, who are in their 30s and live in a five-bedroom house in Maidenhead, Berkshire, continued with their application because they believed their heritage could not be a good reason to reject it.
In April 2016 social worker Shirley Popat telephoned them. Mrs Mander, a programme manager, said: ‘She confirmed she would not accept our application due to our cultural heritage and our only other option was to adopt from India or Pakistan.’
During this time, the Manders adopted a little boy from America.
They are suing the Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead, which oversees the adoption agency, in a landmark case backed by the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
The couple told the court it was a simple case of direct discrimination on the grounds of race, in breach of the 2010 Equality Act and the European Convention on Human Rights.
They claim that they should not have been rejected from joining the approved adopters’ register because of where their parents were born.
The council denies their claims. Katherine Foster, barrister for Adopt Berkshire, told Mrs Mander: ‘You are determined to attribute racism to these social workers. You interpreted it as being racist when it was not.’
Hilary Loades, of Adoption Berkshire, said she deferred their adoption application ‘indefinitely’ because they wanted ‘a young, simple-needs child’ but the council had a lot of older vulnerable children who needed placing for adoption. The hearing continues.