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An account of a widespread protest against the parliamentary Trans Bill 2018 which would have a negative impact on the transgender community if passed.

Amidst posters and hoardings criticising the controversial Trans Bill, a corner of Jantar Mantar was filled with a crowd, a crowd questioning parliamentary amendments and personal stereotypes. They were the trans-people from all over the country, proud of their identity and raging at the proposal of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill. And not only members of the transgender community, college students, activist, laypersons also joined the procession. Some of the provisions of this Bill which are cited as “biased” and “unfair” are that members of the transgender community would be subjected to a screening committee to have their gender assessed and it also reduces the punishment of convicts in sexual crimes against them, among other things. South India Transgender Federation had a major presence in the protest but activists from other states like Manipur, Maharashtra, and Haryana were also present.

Jatin, an alumnus of the University of Delhi says, “As a theatre actor, I have often worked on productions that revolve around queer issues, but after some point, you realise that theatre is just talking. By coming here, I am trying to show the little support that I can from my own side. It’s important to be physically present for the protests about which you preach via your art form.” Jatin’s point gets clearer in the face of a need for students to get educated and know more about the issues that ostracised groups face in their city, in their country. “The problem lies in the education. It’s like we are brought up to mock transgender people or just look at them as if they’re criminals even if they are just earning their living”, another college student remarked.

Trinamool Congress leader Derek O’ Brien also attended the protest and used it as an opportunity to show his support for the cause, while also pushing for the political agenda of his party. Image Credits: Shaurya Thapa — Trinamool Congress leader Derek O’ Brien also attended the protest and used it as an opportunity to show his support for the cause, while also pushing for the political agenda of his party.
Image Credits: Shaurya Thapa

Trinamool Congress leader Derek O’ Brien highlighted how the Mamta Bannerjee government in Bengal is working towards the betterment of trans persons and guaranteed that this controversial Bill would definitely not be passed at Rajya Sabha (receiving several cheers). His monologue ended with “Do hazaar unees, BJP finish!” (BJP’s rule over in 2019!).

Politics aside, this protest represented a struggle for personal rights. Radhika Naik from Tamil Nadu questioned how the government can impose a Bill on determining trans identity without consulting transgender people. “The police beats us if we beg and sometimes for just wandering. Tell me isn’t this harassment? And if someone really harms us, how can we even go to the police? We live in troubled times. The government gives us a ration card and voter ID card but that’s just equality for the namesake. You give us cards but what about our basic rights, what about our roti (food), kapda (clothing), and makaan (shelter),?” Radhika said on an emotional note. “More than the government’s perspective, it’s the people’s perspective that matters and this will ultimately influence the government,” Selvi Naik, Radhika’s friend added.

sdr — The protesters claim that the Bill has been made without any community consultation, lacks accountability measures, and doesn’t have provisions for reservation. Image Credits: Shaurya Singh Thapa

Radha Chatterjee from West Bengal complained about how the government can’t as much as make separate seats or washrooms for the third gender, leave alone other facilities. Still, on an optimistic note, Radha added how the revolution will live on and these protests will turn nationwide. “They’ll call us chutiyas, but if you think of us as chutiyas then let us be chutiyas! We will still fight. You see even though we have faced atrocities, we are still surviving. My guru survives as a trans, I have survived as a trans since a teen, and we all will live on no matter what,” this statement probably captures the optimism that everyone felt in this protest.

On a pavement, photographs from the ongoing protest were exhibited and sold by a middle-aged photographer who has been covering sit-ins, campaigns, and dharnas in Delhi for quite some time (even if he himself didn’t seem to show that much of interest in the movement). "I have been covering protests around Jantar Mantar for the past 15 years. I participated in the 2012 protests about the Nirbhaya rape case, but all other protests feel like a routine and a business opportunity," he added honestly as people bought their pictures. Image Credits: Shaurya Singh Thapa — On a pavement, photographs from the ongoing protest were exhibited and sold by a middle-aged photographer who has been covering sit-ins, campaigns, and dharnas in Delhi for quite some time (even if he himself didn’t seem to show that much of interest in the movement). “I have been covering protests around Jantar Mantar for the past 15 years. I participated in the 2012 protests about the Nirbhaya rape case, but all other protests feel like a routine and business opportunity,” he added honestly as people bought their pictures.
Image Credits: Shaurya Singh Thapa

After shouting slogans and singing rebel songs, the mood turned light as several drum players arrived at the scene. And for a brief moment, many joined from the crowd dancing merrily on the beats of the drums, melting the anger into a celebration of collective struggle and hope for a better future.

Feature Image Credits: Shaurya Singh Thapa for DU Beat.

Shaurya Singh Thapa
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Campus Central

Shrouded in Uncertainty and Doubt: A Narrative of Transgender Students in DU’s Girls’ Colleges

By Vaibhavi Sharma Pathak September 21, 2018

How should institutions founded on the notion that female-only spaces are vital, respond to and incorporate transgender students?

Sehba (name changed on request) joined a girls’ college affiliated to the University of Delhi (DU) in the academic year 2016- 17. Born as a female, he never identified with the gender he was assigned at birth. He underwent a gender affirming surgery when he was in his second year of college. While he has had to struggle with the transition and guarded acceptance from his family, the college administration has made matters worse by threatening to cancel his admission. Four months into the gender affirming surgery, the status of his admission and continuance in the college is shrouded in doubt and uncertainty.

The questions revolving around this issue have wider connotations which have confounded admission officials at women’s colleges of DU in recent years. Should transgender women be allowed to apply? If so, how far into the gender transition process must an applicant be to be recognised as a woman? The transgender rights movement has now gained visibility, thereby challenging the existing institution of single-sex education in India, which has always been a largely heteronormative space.

Just how many transgender students, if any, are attending women’s colleges in DU remains unknown. Many colleges won’t disclose such information citing privacy concerns. Notwithstanding this, there has been a rise in the presence of transgender students in girls’ colleges across the country. With this increased visibility comes backlash that materialises in harassment against trans students.

When asked about the steps taken, if any, by college managements to prevent harassment of transgender students in girls’ colleges, Professor Arunima Roy, said, “We as an institution do whatever is in our capacity to provide counseling to the concerned students and figure out a suitable arrangement for them. However, the situation becomes tricky since the varsity has not issued specific guidelines regarding the admittance of transgender students in girls’ colleges.”

When DU Beat asked a graduate from Miranda House, Harshita Gujral, whether trans students should be allowed in a girls’ college or not, she responded in the affirmative and said, “Trans people are equally deserving of the kind of rights-centred environment that women’s colleges provide.” However, another graduate from the same college, Panchi Kalra, said, “Giving such status to trans people in women’s colleges would ultimately undermine the institutional mission to empower women.”

Women’s colleges of DU have long offered women a sanctuary from certain aspects of discrimination they face in the wider world. Now, these colleges have to decide whether or not to broaden their horizons of feminism, after all, intersectionality is everything.

Feature Image Credits: DU Beat

Vaibhavi Sharma Pathak
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Heading Towards Regression: Transgenders Derecognised From Labour Laws

By DU Beat September 12, 2017

The Law ministry has rejected amendments in the labour laws that were in direct benefit for transgenders, citing reasons from an act of 1897. Is the discrimination against them far deeper than we accept?

Heading towards sad regression, the Law ministry has reportedly derecognised transgenders from the country’s labour laws framework. This comes three years after the landmark judgement of National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) vs The Union of India was passed by the Supreme Court of India, that recognised transgenders as the third gender for the purpose of safeguarding their rights under the Indian constitution, and urging the Centre and the State to provide for equitable opportunities for their education and skill enhancement.

This comes from the government’s decision to streamline 38 labour acts into four labour codes; namely the Code on Wages, Code on Industrial Relations, Code on Social Security and Code on occupational safety, health and working conditions, as part of its labour reforms. The purpose of implementing this code is to remove multiple definitions and pave way for compliance without undermining the importance of wage security and social security of the workers. When a senior official at the Ministry of Labour and Employment was questioned on the reported derecognisation of transgenders by The Hindu, he responded, “We had proposed inserting clauses for recognizing rights of transgender workers in all four codes. However, the law ministry objected citing the General clauses Act 1897, according to which transgenders fall into the definition of a “person”. It was then decided that there was no need to add a separate clause for them.” Even in the amendments that have been proposed for Factories Act of 1948, the inclusion of transgender rights has been shelved. The amendments could potentially have ensured dignity and respect for transgenders at all workplaces, and upheld constitutional freedom for the marginalised community.

Besides a few draft bills, no action has been taken to align the rights of transgenders with existing laws. Despite the NALSA verdict, most laws of the country which pertain to adoption, succession, and criminal offences have no mention of the third gender. Recently, a court ordered bail for four people who were accused of gang-raping a trans person. The law is still silent about transgenders, as section 376, that criminalises rape has no provisions for them. Similarly, section 377 regarding criminal offence of unnatural sex is also incomplete as it deals with crimes against a woman, man and animal, but doesn’t specify anything for the third gender.

The problem lies with failing to acknowledge ‘transgender’ and using gender neutral terms like “person” that invoke arbitrariness and are open to several interpretations, thus gauging on the vulnerability of transgender community. Using the term ‘eunuch’ in laws is also extremely derogatory, and it repeals them from the protective laws that are available for other genders. If the country’s legal frameworks can’t include separate clauses for the third gender, it means that discrimination against them is far deeper than we supposedly accept.

Feature Image Credits: The Indian Express

Vijeata Balani
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