No more living with a different identity

SNS, 18 April 2014: The Darjeeling District Legal Aid Forum, which has been fighting for the rights of transgenders in the district since 2005, feels the Supreme Court’s decision to create a “third gender” status for transgenders will benefit them only if the government takes measures to implement the decision properly.

The DDLF general secretary Amit Sarkar, who welcomed the apex court’s verdict today, said transgenders were a part and parcel of the society and the government must take steps to bring them in the main stream of society. “The Supreme Court has directed the Indian Government to include a new gender category to include people who don’t identify as the traditional male or female. It has also directed state and federal governments to identify transgenders as a neutral third gender who should be granted access to the same welfare schemes as other minority groups in India. It is now for the governments in the country to ensure that the benefits of the step taken by the highest court reach the “third gender” people properly,” he said.

Mr Sarkar also said that the government should ensure that the verdict is not misused by those who do not fall under the transgender category. “The court has clarified that its verdict pertains only to eunuchs and not other sections of society like gay, lesbian and bisexuals who are also considered under the umbrella term ‘transgender’. The government should make proper and adequate arrangements for the medical examination of those applying for the ‘third gender’ status to ensure that only genuine transgenders enjoy the rights, privileges, and immunities which will now be available to the third gender community in the country,” he said.