The Union Cabinet has approved the proposal to introduce The
Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2019. It will be
introduced in the ongoing Parliament session. The Bill provides a
mechanism for the social, economic and educational empowerment of
transgenders.
Impact
The Bill will benefit a large number of transgender persons, mitigate
the stigma, discrimination and abuse against this marginalised section
and bring them into the mainstream of society. This will lead to
inclusiveness and will make transgender persons productive members of
the society.
Background
* The transgender community is among one of the most marginalised
because they don’t fit into the stereotypical gender categories.
Consequently, they face problems ranging from social exclusion to
discrimination, lack of education facilities, unemployment, lack of
medical facilities and so on. The Bill shall empower the transgender
community socially, educationally and economically.
* According to the new definition, a transgender person is somebody
“whose gender does not match the gender assigned to that person at birth
and includes trans-men or trans-women, persons with intersex
variations, gender-queers, and persons having socio-cultural identities
such as kinnar, hijras, aravani and jogta”.
What does the Bill guarantee?
* The Bill aims to stop discrimination against a transgender person
in various sectors such as education, employment and health care. It
also directs the central and state governments to provide welfare
schemes for them.
* Moving the Bill, Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Thawar
Chand Gehlot said that it was a long-standing demand to bring a
legislation to protect the rights of transgender persons and their
welfare. He added that the Bill is aimed at bringing the community into
the mainstream of the society.
Who is a transgender person?
* As per international standards, ‘transgender’ is an umbrella term
that includes persons whose sense of gender does not match with the
gender assigned to them at birth. For example, a person born as a man
may identify with the opposite gender, i.e., as a woman. In addition to
this sense of mismatch, the definition provided under the Bill also
lists further criteria to be defined as a transgender person. These
include being (i) ‘neither wholly male nor female’, or (ii) ‘a
combination of male or female’, or (iii) ‘neither male nor female’.
* The Supreme Court, the expert committee of the social justice and
welfare ministry and the recent standing committee report all define
‘transgender persons’ based on the mismatch only. Therefore, the
definition provided under the Bill does not clarify if simply proving a
mismatch is enough (as is the norm internationally) or whether the
additional listed criteria ought to be fulfilled as well.
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