SC recognises third gender: Bollywood says proud to be Indian

The Supreme Court has passed a landmark judgment, by creating a third gender category. We speak to Mahesh Bhatt, Bobby Darling and others who have been fighting for this.

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court passed a

landmark judgment

, by creating a third gender category.

It gives acceptance — legally, and hope of the same, socially — to all transgenders, who have faced discrimination over the years. They will now be included in state-sponsored welfare programmes, from heathcare to education. Also, all official documents will now list ‘transgender’ as a gender category.

We speak to those who have been fighting for this, as well as Bollywood celebrities who have, through their work, reflected the issues faced by the .



Laxmi Narayan Tripathi, transgender activist who petitioned the court, says, "All documents will now have a third category marked ‘transgender’. This verdict has come as a great relief for all of us. Today I am proud to be an Indian."



Filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt cherishes the judgement but gives a word of caution, "This (the SC ruling) needs to be applauded, but it’s ultimately you and me, and people of this country who will have to make it a reality. You can’t look at the SC to solve all problems. We create the world we live in… our biases still make us commit unspeakable brutality towards fellow human beings. However, by passing a law, the SC has done something."



"It was being demanded for a long time, so I’m glad the judgement has finally come. But the perception — like for any other thing — might take a bit longer to change. Eventually, it will happen. At the end of the day, we are all human beings. It’s just due to convenience that we put ourselves in different categories," Ashutosh Rana, actor, played Shabnam Mausi (shabnam bano was the first Indian transgender to be elected to public office) in a 2005 film by the same name.



Arif Zakaria, actor, played a eunuch in Darmiyaan: In Between (1997), SAYS "It’s a healthy, positive judgement. The SC has finally given a status, and a much-needed identity, to the group. I hope the law helps them as they have been dealing with issues of acceptance."



Bobby Darling, actor, born a boy, transformed to a girL, "I am happy. Unlike earlier when they had to mention if they were male or female, they will get a separate category now. But it’s only a start; there is still a mountain to overcome. It’s a progressive decision, and it shows our society is growing."



Expert opinion

You now have the opportunity to say, "I am male (for a woman), I am female (for a male), or I am neither"



Chayanika Shah, founder member, LABIA, a Mumbai-based activist group, says, 8"We welcome the judgment, because it will impact many, many people. From what I’m reading, people can now choose a gender other than their own. That means you now have the opportunity to say, ‘I am male (for a woman), I am female (for a male) or I am neither.’



That is the broad definition of transgender that one would hope for. So, medical transitioning is not necessarily needed to take on an identity. The wide definition we’ve all been asking for is one that is not based on your body, but on self-identification.



So, that would make hijras one kind of ; but it is a wider umbrella term. You could also be male to female, female to male or gender queer.

(With inputs from AP)