GUWAHATI: The central government, on January 23 last, issued an advisory to all states and union territories (UT) regarding the Transgender Persons Act, 2019. The advisory asks all states and UTs to ensure compliance with the act.
To prevent any sort of discrimination, the law provides for setting up of a Transgender Protection Cell under the charge of the district magistrate in each district. It also mandates setting up a state-level cell under the director general of police to monitor cases of offences against transgender persons and ensure timely registration, investigation and prosecution of such offenses.
Under the said Act, it is a punishable offense if anyone:
a) compels or entices a transgender person to indulge in the act of forced or bonded labour other than any compulsory service for public purposes imposed by the government;
b) denies a transgender person the right of passage to a public place or obstructs such person from using or having access to a public place to which members have access to or right to use;
c) forces or causes a transgender person to leave household, village or other places of residence;
d) harms or injures or endangers the life, safety, health or well-being, whether mental or physical, of a transgender person or tends to do acts including causing physical abuse, verbal and emotional abuse and economic abuse.
But first, let us understand a few things. Who are the transgenders?
Transgender people are individuals whose gender identities do not pertain to their biological sex, and thus they differ from the stereotype of how men and women normally are. Transgender people choose different terms to describe themselves. For example, a transgender woman is someone assigned male at birth who identifies as female, she might describe herself as a “transwoman”, “Male to Female” or “female”. Someone assigned female at birth who identifies as male is a transgender man. He might use the term “transman”, “Female to Male” or simply “male” to describe his identity. Some transgender people do not identify as either male or female, but rather identify outside of a gender binary. Constituting the marginalized section of the society, they face a lot of social as well as economic discrimination.
What problems do they face?
In India, we see that the people of the LGBTQ community are not completely accepted socially. When it comes to the case of transgenders, they have to encounter inequality in various spheres of life, ranging from society, school, office or other public places. Transgender people regularly face transphobic harassment. The status of transgender identity as a mental disorder is widely disputed. Many transgender people experience gender dysphoria which is a disconnect between one's assigned sex at birth and the gender which the individual identifies with.
It has been found that many transgender people face the greatest discrimination in their own homes from their own families. In India, from childhood onwards, kids are brought up with clear gender boundaries. More than often, parents respond negatively when their children cross the said “gender boundaries” set by the society. According to the Human Rights Campaign, less than 43% of gender-expansive youth said they could turn to an adult in their family if they were worried or sad. In education, transgender individuals also describe discrimination from peers. Transgender youth are three times more likely to be excluded by peers because they are "different." Even today in a developing country like India, they are one of the groups who face the most discrimination, be it in any field. Another important thing is the lack of valid documents and identifications. Because of that, they do not have access to a lot of facilities.
The states of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu have a considerable high transgender population as per the first ever Transgender Census conducted in 2011. Most people from this group are self-employed. This could majorly be because of the high amount of discrimination that they face in workplaces. Also because of this same discrimination, many transgenders actually prefer to work for themselves. One can usually see them earning money through singing, dancing and begging. Because they are not accepted in most government and private jobs, they have resorted to this. Many of them are even engaged in sex work, which is the reason for an increased rate of STDs among them.
Will the new advisory guidelines actually help?
The reason for most of the major problems faced by the Transgender Community in India is due to discrimination and the lack of acceptance. The new advisory guidelines issued under the Transgender Persons Act 2019 will try to ensure that the community does not face discrimination and prejudice in society. A special cell will also ensure that any offenses conducted against them do not go unnoticed and unpunished.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) states in the advisory that the law calls for measures to not only provide for welfare but steps for rescue, protection and rehabilitation of a transgender person.
The TG law also mandates that modes of travel like public transport have harassment free zones for the people of this community, thereby ensuring that they are safe during travel. The MHA has also enclosed with the advisory a letter from October last year from the ministry of social justice and empowerment where they inform about the provisions of the new law and measures for compliance.
Now the actual concern is will the society actually comply with these guidelines? Will all those who discriminate against the community be held responsible? Apart from discrimination, there are various other problems that the community faces. When it comes to proper healthcare, the system fails to meet the needs of the transgender community. In addition to this, they also face a high rate of violence.
Although India is far away from considering this community as a part of the society, the need of the hour is to understand is that they don’t ask to be treated differently, they want to be treated like any other human being, with mutual love and respect. A transgender could be a mother, father, brother or sister. It could anyone - a 16 year old or a 60 year old. What really is needed to be done is to be empathetic to them, support them in their ventures, advocate for them and provide them with equal opportunities to thrive and succeed.