Trans Athletes Can Participate In Their Chosen Gender In Absence Of Separate Category: Kerala HC
Amid the continuing debate across the globe about allowing transgender athletes to compete against biological male or female competitors, the Kerala High Court has said that if there is no separate category for them, they should be allowed to participate in sports events in their chosen gender.
The HC order on Friday came in a case filed by a transwoman who said she was told by the organisers of a district-level Judo tournament that transgender people are not permitted to compete.
Transgender athlete denied request to compete as a woman?
The complainant, Anamika, a transwoman, had sought to allow her in the category of women in the absence of the transgender category but was denied by the organisers, after which she approached the court.
The petitioner's lawyer argued that since the sex reassignment surgery?and approximately five years of hormone medication to transition from man to woman, the petitioner has a strong sense of her gender identity as a woman and should be allowed to compete against female athletes.
Transgender athletes have the same rights
On Friday, the bench of Justice VG Arun asserted that every transgender person has the same right to compete in sports and that they must be permitted to take part in the category of their choice if there is no distinct category.
"It is my considered opinion that a transgender person is having equal right to participate in competitions. Here, in the absence of any category for participating transgender persons, the petitioner is seeking to participate in her identity as woman. If the organisers have not made arrangements for participating transgenders, then the petitioner will have to be permitted to participate in her chosen category," the Court said?
The Court directed organisers to accept the petitioner's application and allow her to participate in the competition provisionally, subject to the final outcome of the petition.
The global debate on transgender athletes
This is a debate that has been going on around the world.
Those opposed to the move say allowing transgender athletes, especially men who transitioned into women, to compete against biological females will give them an undue advantage.
However, those in favour argue that the hormone treatment the transgender people undergo removes their physical advantage.
Dutee Chand wants the discrimination to end?
Recently, Dutee Chand, India's first openly gay athlete,?said that it's unfair on the part of the sports administrators to stop transgender women athletes from competing "just because others can't digest their success at the elite level".
"Everyone, irrespective of his or her gender, has the right to play and compete. It's the basic human principle," she told The Times of India.
Dutee has been subjected to scrutiny and was banned from competing as a female in 2014 because of high testosterone levels in her body, a clinical condition called 'hyperandrogenism.'
For more on the news, sports, and current affairs from around the world, please visit?Indiatimes News.
