Transgender Bill regressive, say student groups

Days after Parliament passed the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2019, gender cells of higher education institutes in the city have taken up the

Days after Parliament passed the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2019, gender cells of higher education institutes in the city have taken up the Bill for discussion.

HT Image

Student bodies are protesting the Bill stating it violates the fundamental rights of transgender, intersex and gender non-conforming people. The Rajya Sabha on November 26 cleared the Bill to be made into a law. However, the move has come under widespread criticism.

Student bodies now hope that President Ram Nath Kovind will take note of their protests.

“We are disgusted by the proceedings that led to the passing of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2019, and strongly condemn it. Despite widespread protests by the transgender, gender non-conforming and intersex communities, it got passed in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha,” said Queer Collective (QC) at Tata Institute of Social Science (TISS), Mumbai, in a statement released on November 29. Members of QC said that several activities have been planned to protest the Bill.

The gender collective of the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, Saathi, is also discussing the matter.

“The Bill fails to uphold the right to self-determination of gender by requiring one to prove one’s gender which is dehumanising, regressive, and unconstitutional. It mandates “surgery” as the basis for applicants to identify as ‘male’ or ‘female’ to avail protections, which is not feasible for and not desired by many,” said representatives of TISS QC.