It's not a nitpicky interpretation. Apartheid was a specific system in South Africa where different groups were not allowed to live in the same areas or sleep under the same roof or marry among many other restrictions. I don't think you realise how badly it comes off to someone who lived through apartheid to see the term being applied so casually to something very different due to vague similarities. Just because it's a horrible situation doesn't mean it's apartheid. Apartheid died in the 90's and was actually named 'apartheid'. When I mention apartheid to someone the response shouldn't be 'which one?'