Transgender: Rights and Opportunities in India

By Devi Ragesh
The transgender community now identified as the ‘third-gender’ is yet to experience a normal livelihood in India. Hindu mythology holds a noteworthy place for the trans-genders. Known in our society under various names such as Hijras, Kinnars, Shiv Shaktis, Jogappas and so on, they were perceived with some sort of austerity in pre-colonial India. However, now the situation is drastically different, this community who were once revered are now treated very poorly.

The situation has changed a lot for the better, now with them being accepted lawfully as the third gender. They are also offered reservation in government educational institutions and for jobs. However, with the stigma that they face most of them do not even make it to schools, the majority of transgenders are dropouts from school. The humiliation, trauma and exploitation they face on a daily basis is unimaginable.

Many at a very small age itself are abandoned by family and forced into sex trade, begging and prostitution. The lack of health aid provided to them is also very despairing. Undergoing very dangerous castrations and genital mutilations are common. There are many deaths that happen from the sex-removal surgery that they undergo without proper medical assistance or they themselves attempt within their groups. Very few states like Kerala, offer sex change surgery in hospitals.

With transgenders being a minority, this marginal community, suffers with their rights socially and economically. The recent Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2019 introduced on July 19, 2019 was perceived as an unjust move to the rights of the transgender community. Even though the bill legalises self-identification right “shall have a right to self-perceived gender identity,” the bill follows a language that complicates the process and even might necessitate a surgical procedure.

Adding to this is non-legalisation of begging. This restricts the livelihood of many in this community, with not being provided opportunities or jobs elsewhere. Even though not preferred this is the only way many earn the meagre amounts they do. Begging at high traffic areas like railway stations and traffic signals are the only options left to them. Making that illegal is denying them their only way of survival.

Added to this is the non-legalisation of moving out of transgenders from their family. Under the hostile and abusive environment that in most cases the family offers, moving out and living alone or with other transgenders are the only option that brings them some solace. Thus with all the amendments the bill came with, one wonders whether it is to actually benefit the third gender community or not.

What can be done by us? What is something that can be practised in a shorter time frame? To these questions, Nimish Shetty, a young owner of a cafe ‘Third eye’ which started in 2017 in Navi Mumbai offers a great answer. What’s special about this you may ask? The cafe employs transgenders as their staff. He says his purpose was “to bring the transgender community to mainstream society and jobs” or rather getting them to contact with the normal society and offering them a life with dignity.

The employee of the restaurant speaks on a video by ‘Asian Boss’ of how difficult life is for them. The staff speaks with ease when asked about their life before being given this job. “Begging and prostitution were the only other options despite having applied for various other jobs”, explains Mahi, the staff. “I can’t comprehend what the word ‘treat’ even means” when asked on how transgenders are treated in the society. “Now I have a name and a job despite being a transgender”, “but it’s gone the moment I step out of this restaurant”.

One must be ashamed to be part of a society that offers this kind of a treatment towards fellow human beings. The cafe is not just employment and financial security but an abode for the staff who works there, explains the staff. A ‘safe place’ free from abuse and hatred. However, they do suffer from financial strains and difficulties.

Another positive step was the employment of 23 transgender people in varied positions in the workforce of Kochi Metro. However there are articles that mentioned how some had quit the job the first day itself as it was not enough to make ends meet.

29 year old Software professional Mayank Bhardwaj, set up a job portal for the transgender and intersex community. A well thought about idea they implemented was, “Most of the jobs on the portal would be in the service sector, where higher educational qualifications would not always be a requisite” said Bharadwaj. “Such jobs do not require a significant skill set and many of the employers are ready to train their prospective employees,” said Bhardwaj to The Indian Express on 22 August, 2018.

There are also small-scale salons and restaurants and other places that does provide employment. ‘Job for Trans’ a Facebook page offers employment opportunities for the trans community starting from minimum wages. Although such initiatives take time to smoothly function or come across as a ‘success’ in the narrow sense of the word, this seems like a positive step towards a greater change. If more such options are made available for the third gender community, it would gradually save them of a life of abuse and humiliation. What is important is that more people become aware about this and provide more job opportunities in the service sectors and so on.

Once they are provided employment in all sectors of the society and seen much more commonly and leading a normal life like the rest of the population would make a difference. On seeing and recognising them everywhere, they would be normalised as part of the society and would help in fighting off the transphobia that some are caught up with.

Lack of educational qualifications is one another field where they face hurdles. Steps to offer education and financial aid for the transgender community should also be implemented as a next step to this motive of uplift of the community.

“A crucial step towards making government schools in the city more trans-inclusive was taken on Tuesday, with principals of 25 government schools as well as five private schools attending a workshop aimed at sensitising them on transgender rights and the needs and challenges of transgender students”, “The workshop was the first phase of a pilot project called ‘Purple Board’, aimed at making education accessible for transgender and gender non-conforming children by addressing transphobia and identifying and eliminating trans-bullying,” according to an article on Indian Express on 24 October, 2018.

A few years back, Kochi started a residential school with ten pupils for transgender students. The school ‘Sahaj International’, the first school of India of this kind also had employed transgender teachers. However with the lack of new registrations, the school failed to serve its purpose.

Nonetheless this is a great step towards offering them a greater place in society and opening up further opportunities (not begging and prostitution) to the transgender community. We must encourage them to show their worth and to lead a life of dignity and happiness. It is high time that they get to experience all the advantages and comforts that everyone else gets to in the society and we pay back for everything they were deprived of. Respect, identity and dignity should not be denied. With more transgenders taking positions as principals in colleges, actors, doctors, mayors, journalists, entrepreneurs and so on, there is much hope for a better future.

With new vistas of opportunities open to transgenders, hope is not beyond reach and we can envisage a new world in which transgenders are less neglected and downtrodden.