What is the news?
The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday amid criticism from the opposition. The central government had brought this bill to end the right of transgender people to self-identify their gender and to redefine the definition of transgender person. Responding to the discussion on the bill, Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Virendra Kumar said that the passing of this amendment will bring legal clarity.
Why is the bill being opposed?
Earlier this month the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 was introduced for amendment. It includes amendments related to the identification of transgender individuals, the process for obtaining a transgender certificate, and compliance requirements for medical institutions performing gender-affirming care procedures. After the introduction of this bill, transgender communities across the country staged strong protests. Community representative members of the government’s National Transgender Council alleged lack of consultation.
Rahul Gandhi protested
Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has also opposed the bill. He wrote on Twitter that this amendment is an open attack by the BJP government on the constitutional rights and identity of transgender people, which takes away their right to decide their own identity. He said the bill forces transgender people to undergo inhumane testing by a medical board, imposes criminal penalties and a system of surveillance without safeguards.
What changes took place in the law?
The government has described the law of the year 2019 as incomplete, in which necessary amendments have been made. Passage of the amendment bill will limit the definition of transgender person. If a person perceives a gender different from the one assigned at birth, he or she will not participate. Congenital transgenders and people who are forcibly made transgender will be included in this. Transgender people who become transgenders due to surgery or hormonal changes are required to obtain a certificate from a medical board. In this the District Magistrate has got huge powers.
Demand to send it to the standing committee
Opposition parties had opposed the bill and demanded to send it to the Standing Committee of Parliament, which was not accepted. In Parliament, Nationalist Congress Party MP Supriya Sule, Congress’s S Jotimani, Samajwadi Party’s Anand Bhadauria, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s T Sumathi, Independent MP Pappu Yadav, Trinamool Congress’s June Maliya and Priyanka Gandhi protested. He has called it a violation of transgender rights and Articles 14, 15, 19, 21 of the Constitution.
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