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The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2016, was passed with 27 amendments in the Lok Sabha on Monday. The main scope of the bill is to define the term ‘transgender’ people, prohibiting and also protecting them from the atrocities and subjugation faced by them on the basis of caste, creed, gender, religion etc.
The bill was introduced in the house two years ago but had faced criticisim from various political and social groups. Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar of All India Trinamool Congress has rightly mentioned that the bill had an insensitive approach towards transgender people and some of the clauses were inconclusive. One of the most important aspect in this regard is the definition of “transgender.”
Originally, the Bill defined transgender as a person who is “neither wholly male or wholly female, or a combination of female or male, or neither female nor male”.This definition had resulted in mass outrageous reaction leading to the infringement of the basic Human Rights of the transgenders driving them into the notion of grave insensitiveness and inhuman treatment.
The Standing Committee, to which the Bill was sent for scrutiny, suggested amending the definition of trangender as “transgender person means a person whose gender does not match with the gender assigned tothat person at birth and includes trans-man (whether or not such person has undergone sex re-assignment 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 kinnar, hijra, aaravani and jogta.” This definition has thus provided a comprehensive cultural, social and biological dimension.
Union Minister for Social Justice Dr. Thawar Chand Gehlot mentions that there should be no discrimination in the realm of education, health, transportation, job opportunities etc. and they should also be given the right to be called a transgender. They are also entitled to their right of residence and the initiation of the welfare schemes should be of utmost priority. Transgenders also have their right to life and personal liberty and thus, they should not be forced into bonded labour and other menial jobs. The proposal of setting up of National Council for Transgenders has gathered great significance.
The Supreme Court Judgement Nalsa V. Union Of India forms the Core of the Bill.
However, Shashi Tharoor has strongly opposed the bill stating it to be ‘regressive’ since the Bill assumed that all the persons with iner-sex
variations would be transgnders. Also the notion of “self- identified” gender as the Supreme Court had upheld is itself an infringement of Right of liberty, dignity and privacy.
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