Transgender activists write to Centre demanding support during Covid-19 crisis
Transgender people have appealed to the government to institute a monthly basic income, ensure access to ration and essentials and supply of medication to help the marginalised community during the Covid-19 pandemic.
In a letter to the finance, home and social justice ministries, more than 2,000 activists and groups said the community was hit hard by the ongoing national lockdown because it obliterated their primary sources of income -- begging and sex work – and the lack of proper identity cards stopped their access to social security schemes.
“This community is already very badly affected and further marginsalised during a pandemic, and prone to higher health risks. It is important that the central government provide adequate support, which must include ration,” said Meera Sanghamitra, an activist and one of the signatories to the letter.
The activists noted that some measures had been instituted to help the community – such as the provision of Rs 1,500 by the National Institute of Social Defense (NISD) -- but added that such efforts were mostly localized and inadequate. For example, the NISD allowance reached around 4,500 people, according to the activists, which made up roughly 1% of the 488,000-odd transpeople counted in the 2011 Census.
The activists demanded that the government provide a subsistence income of at least Rs. 3,000 per month, universalize the public distribution system to ensure food security, block the eviction or forced rent payment of transpeople, and ensure uninterrupted supply of essential medication.
“This would also be in keeping with the spirit of the judgment of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in NALSA vs UoI (14th April, 2014) and obligations of the state, there under as well as under Article 14, 15 and 21 of the Constitution of India,” the letter added, referring to the 2014 verdict of the top court that affirmed the rights of the trans community and recognised them as “third gender”.