In a step for social and economic justice of the transgender community, the government has approved The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2019. The bill is set to benefit a large number of transgender persons, alleviate the stigma, discrimination and abused against the marginalised community and will help bring them into the mainstream society.
The bill provides a mechanism for social, economic and educational empowerment of transgenders by defining their identity and rights to prohibit discrimination against them.
A government statement said the bill will lead to inclusiveness and make them productive members of the society, it said.
"The Union Cabinet has approved the proposal to introduce the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2019. The Bill will introduced in the ensuing session of the Parliament. The Bill provides a mechanism for their social, economic and educational empowerment," the statement said.
BCCL
According to the bill, a transgender is a person whose "gender does not match with the gender assigned to that person at birth and includes trans-man or trans-woman (whether or not such person has undergone Sex Reassignment Surgery or hormone therapy or laser therapy or such other therapy), person with intersex variations, gender- queer and person having such socio-cultural identities as kinner, hijra, aravani and jogta."
The bill will give the right to choose to a transgender person to be identified as a man, woman or transgender, irrespective of sex reassignment surgery and hormonal therapy.
It restricts recognition of gender identity, as it only provides for transgender persons to receive identity certificates recognising them as ¡°transgender¡± and therefore, excludes all other gender identities.
The bill is contentious because it requires transgender persons to go through a district magistrate and "district screening committee" to get certified as a transperson.
The committee would comprise a medical officer, a psychologist or psychiatrist, a district welfare officer, a government official, and a transgender person.
Such procedures will create an environment of abuse and violate the basic human right to privacy and dignity. The measure will only rob the already marginalised community of discretion, given such close scrutiny by the government.
The bill has already been criticised for being hastily passed in Lok Sabha in 2018.
BCCL
Though the bill prohibits discrimination against a transgender person in areas such as education, employment and healthcare, it does not spell out the measures taken to create such opportunities for the community.
The Supreme Court has held that the right to self-identification of gender is part of the right to dignity and autonomy under Article 21 of the Constitution. However, an objective criteria is required to ascertain one¡¯s gender to be eligible for benefits.
The Bill includes terms like ¡®trans-men¡¯, ¡®trans-women¡¯, persons with ¡®intersex variations¡¯ and ¡®gender-queers¡¯ in its definition of transgender persons.? However, these terms have not been defined.?
It still remains unclear as to how such laws would apply to transgender persons who do not identify with the two genders.