Article

Transgender Rights and Position in India – Famous Personalities

AUTHOR : SHOBHIT KUMAR DAGUR

“I was born normal, this world made me feel different.” These words describe the divide between men & women and a transgender.

Dear readers, First of all I want to introduce what is transgender. The word ‘transgender’ was coined by activist and Trans pioneer Virginia Prince through her advocacy and writing in 1970s. The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill of 2018 and the The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act of 2019 describes a transgender person as someone whose gender does not match with the gender assigned to them at birth. In India, there are a wide range of transgender related identities which includes the Hijras, Aravanis, Kothis, Jogtas/ Jogappas, Shiv Sakthis. In the past, they were treated with great respect. 24^th April is celebrated as Transgender Day. 

As we all know transgender community faced discrimination in the society everywhere that’s why government always tried to protect them from all types of discrimination. There are a lot of people who used to see them with disrespect, which creates a divide in the society. 

RIGHTS GIVEN TO TRANSGENDER IN INDIA

Let us talk about the rights which are provided to all the transgender in India. In Indian scenario The Transgender Persons (Protection of rights) Act, 2019 is used to avail or describe rights such as-

1. Recognition as Third Gender

The Indian Constitution provide right to dignity and gave due recognition to their gender identity which was based upon reassigned sex after undergoing Sex Reassignment Surgery as the person has a constitutional right to get recognized as a male or female. Thus the transgenders were entitled to legal protection of law in all the spheres of state activity including education and employment. When a person applies or fills any type of online or offline form he finds 3 columns of gender [National Legal Services Authority v/s. Union of India & Others]. Beginning in the mid-1980s, transgender individuals were officially recognized by the government and allowed to undergo sex reassignment surgery.

2. Rights under Indian Constitution

The Indian state policy that earlier recognized only two sex (male and female) has deprived the third gender from their several rights as being an Indian citizens, which includes right to vote, right to own property, right to marry, right to 55. claim a passport etc. and more importantly their the right to education, employment, health and so on.

3. Prohibition against Discrimination

Transgender people have suffered from discrimination for ages in the matters of housing, health, education and employment. To safeguard the rights of transgender people and to protect them from the discrimination, The Transgender Person (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 includes the prohibition against discrimination which most importantly includes important sectors like employment, education and health care sectors.

4. Education

It was also observed that normal people don’t want to sit with transgender person. The education of transgender person is equally important like others. Act of 2019 provides that the educational institution that are funded or recognized by government shall provide education, recreational facilities and sports for transgender person without discrimination.

5. Employment

In employment, they suffer discrimination mainly in the form of privacy violation, refusal to hire and harassment which leads to unemployment and poverty. To prevent the discrimination suffered by them the transgender person protection act states that no government or even the private entities can discriminate against transgender person in the matters of employment which includes recruitment and promotions and (the best part is) every establishment should designate a person to be a complaint officer to deal with the complaints in relation to the act.

6. Health Care

To provide them protection and help them to lead a happy life, The Transgender Person (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 states that government should take proper steps to provide health care facilities to transgender person and it should include separate HIV surveillance centers and sex reassignment surgeries and Transgender persons should be provided with a comprehensive medical insurance.

7. Violation of Human Rights

In addition to various other violation it has also been noticed that the community also faces discrimination as they are not given the right to contest election, right to vote (Article 326), employment, to get licenses, etc. and in effect, they are treated as outcast and untouchable. It is very rare when a skilled individual from this community gets into formal employment due to the policy of hiring only from either the male or female gender. Even if they do, they are ridiculed and ostracized and hence forced to leave their jobs. They are forced into sex work which puts them at the highest risk of contracting HIV as they agree to unprotected sexual intercourse because they fear rejection or they want to affirm their gender through sex.

8. Socio-Economic Rights

Centre and State Governments have been asked to provide the society with several social welfare policies and to manage the society as socially and economically backward classes. They have also been asked to stretch reservation in educational institutions and for public appointments.

POSITION OF TRANSGENDERS IN INDIA

In India, Government always tried to protect this community from discrimination and give them chances to make a prosperous status in society. Here are some provisions regarding this concern.

1. First of all, as we all know the right of equality before law and equal protection of law is guaranteed under Article 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India. The right to choose one’s gender identity is an essential part to lead a life with dignity which again falls under the ambit of Article 21.

2. The Transgender Persons (Protection of rights) Act, 2019 was passed by Parliament on 26th November, 2019. The bill defines a transgender as someone whose gender does not match the one assigned at birth. It prohibits discrimination against them in employment, education, housing, healthcare and other services.

3. On 24th August, 2020 Press Information Bureau published that, in exercise of the powers conferred by Section 16 of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 the Central Government has constituted a National Council for Transgender Persons vide notification dated 21^st August, 2020. The Union Minister of Social Justice & Empowerment will be the Chairperson (ex-officio) and Union Minister of State for Social Justice & Empowerment will be the Vice-Chairperson (ex-officio).

4. Immoral Traffic Prevention Act (1956) which was amended in 1986 has become a Gender neutral legislation. The domain of the Act now applies to both male and female sex workers along with those whose gender identity was indeterminate. With the amendment both the male and hijra sex workers became criminal subjects as this gives the police the legal basis for arrest and intimidation of the transgender sex workers.

5. Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (Unnatural Sex) criminalizes same sex relations among consenting adults. This is a colonial era law which makes the Transgender community vulnerable to police harassment, extortion and abuse. 

6. In a landmark judgment of the Madras High Court in 2019 (Arunkumar v. The Inspector General Of Registration) has upheld the right to marry for transgender persons. The court in its judgment held that a person who is born as intersex but recognizes herself as a woman should be discussed as “bride” under Section 5 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.

FAMOUS TRANSGENDER PERSONALITY

Now, we should discuss a few famous transgender persons who used their rights and made their life successful as a normal man or woman does.

1. Sathyasri Sharmila– In 2019, Sathyasri Sharmila became India’s first transgender lawyer, she enrolled her name in the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry . Shunning the stereotypical mindset behind, she set an example by pursuing law so that she can fight against injustice.
2. Joyita Mondal– At an age of 29, Joyita Mondal became the first judge as she was appointed at Lok Adalat of Bengal in October 2017. While closely working for transgender rights organizations, Mondal got inspired to pursue a degree in law.
3. Prithika Yashini– Moving ahead of all the odds, Prithika Yashini became the first transgender sub-inspector though she was declared failed by one mark. Nonetheless, she got her score re-evaluated in the physical examination and came out clear with flying colors.
4. Manabi Bandopadhyay– The charming Manabi Bandopadhyay, became the first transgender college principal of Krishnagar Women’s College on June 7, 2015. Currently, she is a professor and was the first transgender person in India who completed Doctor of Philosophy (PhD). Earlier, she had taught as an associate professor in Bengali at Vivekananda Satabarshiki Mahavidyalaya.
5. Mumtaz-Mumtaz, a social worker, is the first transgender who came out to contest elections in Punjab from Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). Mumtaz contested elections from the Bhucho Mandi constituency. She has been working with BSP for over 11 years.
6. Shabnam Mausi– She contested elections from Sohagpur constituency in district Shahdol, Madhya Pradesh. As she was not supported by her family, she wasn’t able to attend school, yet was able to learn  almost 12 different languages.
7. Shabi– Shabi joined the Marine Engineering Department of the Eastern Naval Command around eight years ago. However, she underwent the sex reassignment surgery in 2016. After the surgery she joined the naval base in Visakhapatnam.
8. Jiya Das- Kolkata’s Jiya Das became the first transgender operation theatre or OT technician. Earlier, Jiya had even danced at a gunpoint in Uttar Pradesh.

At the end, I just want to say that in India, transgender people have the necessary rights and provisions but need is just to execute and implement them properly. Time to time the Government has taken initiatives to make the community feel as a part of society and to ensure that they are growing and connecting with mainstream society. 

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