In a major initiative, the ruling Congress Government headed by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has brought in a specific policy to empower lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (lGBT) community. The Government also decided to amend 36A of the Karnataka Police Act, which criminalises hijaras and other members of the community.
After the Cabinet decision, law and Minister TB Jayachandra said much thought has gone to bring these communities to mainstream and new policy envisages reservation to them at all levels of formal education across the State.
He said, “The policy speaks for bringing the transgender community under the ambit of quotas, categories of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (RTE) Act to promote literacy and reduce the number of dropouts which is also a big part of this initiative.”
He also said separate toilets will be constructed in schools for transgenders as part of this policy. As per the new policy, the labour department had, in fact, recommended quota in vocational courses by reserving five seats each for transgenders in Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and polytechnics across the State, to make them job-ready. The policy also speaks of “preferential” allocation in higher education for transgenders in a phased manner.
The Government plans to rope in anganwadi workers to reach out to family members of transgenders and sensitise them on the issue. This apart, the policy also speaks of sanitising school curriculum in order to remove the negative portrayal of transgenders in literature and language books.
The Government has decided to roll out the policy suggestions in a phased manner over the next 36 months. The new policy of Karnataka State aims at safeguarding transgenders from social and sexual exploitation and also integrate them into mainstream of the society.
The Transgender Persons (protection Bill ) 2016 aims to bring social, educational and economic empowerment to them.