Society struggling to accept humans who don't fit into man-woman binary: NHRC chief
Society struggling to accept humans who don't fit into man-woman binary: NHRC chief
New Delhi, India is "far ahead" of several other nations in recognising the rights of transgender persons, and while the country "may not have reached an ideal level", but it has certainly advanced to a great extent in this area, NHRC Chairperson, Justice V Ramasubramanian said on Thursday.
In his address at a national conference here, he also said that there could be or that there are human beings who "do not fit into this binary of man or woman" is something that the societies all over, are still grappling to accept.
"The consequence of this, is that trans people experience widespread discrimination and stigma in the health sector, schools, employment and housing as well as in accessing bathrooms," the National Human Rights Commission chairperson said.
The day-long national conference on the rights of transgender persons is being held at the India Habitat Centre here by the NHRC.
Centered on the theme "Revamping Spaces, Reclaiming Voices," the event emphasises "the immediate need to tackle systemic discrimination, uplift lived experiences, and promote meaningful inclusion for transgender persons in all areas of life", the NHRC said.
The rights panel chief began his address by quoting some texts from the Upanishads, which underline that the God pervades in all humans, and all living and non-living beings.
{{/usCountry}}The rights panel chief began his address by quoting some texts from the Upanishads, which underline that the God pervades in all humans, and all living and non-living beings.
{{/usCountry}}If India is a country where the discourse on equality was taken to such great heights by the Upanishads, and if it is the philosophy of the Upanishads that every unit of creation is God's manifestation, "can some units of such creation be discriminated against by others," the NHRC chief asked.
{{/usCountry}}If India is a country where the discourse on equality was taken to such great heights by the Upanishads, and if it is the philosophy of the Upanishads that every unit of creation is God's manifestation, "can some units of such creation be discriminated against by others," the NHRC chief asked.
{{/usCountry}}Can one unit of creation be considered inferior to the others and can any of such creations be treated with contempt, Justice Ramasubramanian emphasised. He said these were the pivotal questions around which this conference has been designed.
{{/usCountry}}Can one unit of creation be considered inferior to the others and can any of such creations be treated with contempt, Justice Ramasubramanian emphasised. He said these were the pivotal questions around which this conference has been designed.
{{/usCountry}}"Fortunately, India is far ahead of several other countries in recognising the rights of trans persons. We may not have reached an ideal level, but we have certainly advanced to a great extent," he asserted.
This is because for the first time in history that the three pillars of democracy in India, namely "the legislative, the executive, and the judiciary, have come together, to transform the philosophy of the Upanishads into a constitutional philosophy and then to translate the constitutional philosophy into a parliamentary enactment," he said.
In his address, he also cited some data drawn from Trans Murder Monitoring, a research project of TGEU that tracks the murders of trans and gender diverse people globally.
According to its report released in 2024, there were "350 reported murders during the period from October 1,2023 to September 30, 2024", of which 12 had happened in india, the rights panel's chairperson said.
This report also recorded the 5,000th recorded case of anti-trans murders since the year 2008. This report was released on the occasion of the Trans day Remembrance which is observed annually on November 20 to memorialise those who have been "murdered as a result of transphobia," he added.
He also underlined the change in wordings of texts of global declarations pertaining to human rights, equality and justice, over the centuries.
But the mere change of terminology from 'man' to 'human beings' has "not actually transformed our stereotypical thought processes, and the society continues to think that men and women alone constitute the human race," the NHRC chief said.
"That there could be and that there are human beings who do not fit into this binary of man or woman, is something that the societies all over, are still grappling to accept," he added.
The NHRC is privileged to host this national conference as "a huge segment of our population, estimated as per the 2011 census, to be around 4.88 lakh cannot be left out of the mainstream," the chairperson said.
A comprehensive report aimed at strengthening policies and frameworks to uphold the rights and dignity of transgender persons, was also released on the occasion.
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