THIS BILL HAS INTRODUCED MANY STEPS TO PROTECT THE RIGHTS OF THE TRANSGENDER PEOPLE, SUCH AS:

The Bill prohibits the discrimination against a transgender person, including denial of service or unfair treatment in relation to: (i) education; (ii) employment; (iii) healthcare; (iv) access to, or enjoyment of goods, facilities, opportunities available to the public; (v) right to movement; (vi) right to reside, rent, own or otherwise occupy property; (vii) opportunity to hold public or private office; and (viii) access to a government or private establishment in whose care or custody a transgender person is.

No government or private entity can discriminate against a transgender person in employment matters, including recruitment, promotion, etc. If the entity has more than 100 persons, it is required to designate a person to be a complaint officer to deal with complaints in relation to the Act.

Educational institutions funded or recognized by the government shall provide inclusive education, sports and recreational facilities for transgender persons, without discrimination.

A National Council for Transgender persons (NCT) will be set up which shall consist of: (i) Union Minister for Social Justice (Chairperson); (ii) Minister of State for Social Justice (Vice- Chairperson); (iii) Secretary of the Ministry of Social Justice; (iv) one representative from ministries including Health, Home Affairs, Minority Affairs, Housing, Human Resources Development, etc. Other members include representatives of the NITI Aayog, National Human Rights Commission, and National Commission for Women. State governments will also be represented. The Council will also consist of five members from the transgender community and five experts from non-governmental organizations. This council will advise the central government on the formulation and monitoring of policies, legislation and projects with respect to transgender persons.

This is a commendable step and shows that our nation might just give the LGBT the rights they are due. However, there are a few points to note here. The Supreme Court, in its verdict, aimed at was the right to self-determination of identity.

This meant that people could identify their own genders without having to seek certification and was meant to do away with years of oppression and torture at the hands of state actors who refused to recognize a transgender.

However, this bill has stated that to call oneself a transgender, one has to go to through district magistrate and a screening committee — that will have doctors on board-and only then would they get a certificate saying that he/she is transgender.

The Screening Committee consists of a Medical officer, a social welfare officer, a psychologist or psychiatrist, a representative of the transgender community, and a government representative. The Screening Committee will make a recommendation to the Magistrate about the application, on the basis of which the Magistrate will issue a certificate of identity. The current draft has not clarified on what grounds the Committee will be basing its recommendations nor does the Bill give a timeframe within which the Magistrate must give his or her decision. Neither does the Bill specify how the applicant can challenge this decision.

There is one provision which states that transgender people cannot be separated from their families, which is a big source of discrimination, violence and denial of identity for a Trans person. The provision makes it impossible for people to be removed from abusive families without moving court.

Also, the top court had called for reservations as other backward classes for transgender people but that provision is wholly missing from the bill.

This bill also has a lack of clarity when it comes to defining discrimination, harassment and for seeking justice.

Yes, this bill is a step for ensuring the transgender community the rights they were due but this bill is in complete contradiction to the Supreme Court verdict.

Transgender rights activists across the country have criticized the Bill, as currently formulated, for failing to comply with the spirit of the NALSA judgment and introducing provisions that could further marginalize transgender persons.

One more thing to note is that section 4 of this bill states that “A transgender person shall have a right to be recognized as such”. Yet in Section 2 (i), in turn, defines a transgender person as “a person who is—(A) neither wholly female nor wholly male; or (B) a combination of female or male; or (C) neither female nor male; and, whose sense of gender does not match with the gender assigned to the person at the time of birth, and includes trans-men and trans-women, persons with intersex variations and gender-queers.”

Since the NALSA judgment in 2014, India has taken several steps toward protecting the rights of transgender persons.

While legislation guaranteeing these rights is essential, in its current form, the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill 2016 undermines the NALSA decision and international human rights law, and might just end up doing more harm than good.

Although it is indeed a step towards progress, this draft shows still shows our mindset and stereotypes regarding transgender. Only you have the right to decide what your gender is. Not a court where the Magistrate feels one is not a transgender. These loophole in this bill need to be worked upon with a clear, open mind which can help the transgender community to be given the equality they deserve