Transgender
- According to WHO, Transgender is an umbrella term for people whose gender identity and expression do not conform to the norms and expectations traditionally associated with the sex assigned to them at birth
Problems faced by Transgender communities in India
- Discrimination – They are the victim of stigmatization and exclusion by the society
Forced to leave the parental home - Unable to access equal educational opportunities.
- They are economically marginalised and forced into professions like prostitution and begging for livelihood.
- The community remains highly vulnerable to sexually transmitted diseases like HIV and AIDS.
- According to a UNAIDS report, the HIV prevalence among transgenders in India is 3.1% (2017).
- Mental health issues
- Direct discrimination and denial while accessing houses or apartments, lack of provision of gender-neutral/separate transgender toilets and discrimination in accessing public toilets
- It is challenging to get accurate and consistent identification documents
Transgenders are often subjected to sexual abuse, rape and exploitation. - Neglected in the inheritance of property or adoption of a child.
Constitutional Safeguards
- Article 14- Right to equality.
- Article 15-No discrimination on the grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, and place of birth
- Article 19 – Right to freedom of speech and expression
- Article 21 Right to privacy
- Article 23 Right against Traffic in human beings and beggars and other similar forms of forced labour.
The Supreme Court Judgment on Transgender Rights: NALSA Judgement, 2014
- Upheld that transgenders should be treated as the third gender for safeguarding their fundamental rights.
Acknowledged Article 21 as the right to choose one’s gender identity.
- Directed the state to provide reservations in public education, employment and appropriate health facilities.
- Directed the state to frame social welfare schemes for their all-around development.
Section 377 Judgement, 2018:
- In the Navtej Singh Johar case, SC decriminalised homosexuality by partially striking down the colonial era provisions of Section 377 of IPC.
Madras High Court’s judgment on Civil rights of Transgenders
- In Arunkumar and Sreeja case (2019), HC has extended the enjoyment of civil rights, especially those pertaining to marriage, to transpersons.
- This judgment has revised the legal construction of gender and the conventional interpretation of terms such as “bride” and “bridegroom”.