Rajya Sabha shows rare, welcome unanimity
By unanimously adopting a Private Members' Bill for the protection and empowerment of transgenders, the Rajya Sabha has demonstrated bipartisan consensus on an issue that should anyway be free from political or ideological differences. The Rights of Transgender Persons Bill, 2014, offers a roadmap of sorts for making transgenders equal citizens and will hopefully pave the way for a comprehensive law that helps bring the marginalised community to the mainstream. The Bill envisages an enabling framework for transgenders that includes financial and legal aid, social security, job reservations, pensions, and unemployment benefits.
It looks at issues of marriage, inheritance and adoption, and proposes the establishment of courts that will deal specifically with transgender rights as well as a transgender commission, similar to the national commissions on minorities or women. Transgenders are horribly misunderstood in society and usually ostracised even by their own families. It is almost impossible for them to be open about their identity and also hold a regular job or lead a normal life. The situation is especially dire for those born in poorer families, as these persons are almost always pushed out to the social fringes, where they are often caught in vicious cycles of abuse, harassment and violence. According to official statistics, there are about 4.5 lakh transgenders across the country, but activists say that the number is much higher — around 20 to 25 lakh.
Though social prejudices against transgenders remain rampant, in recent years there has been a perceptible, even if gradual, change in the narrative. An important development in this regard was the Supreme Court's decision last April granting transgenders the right to identify themselves as members of the third gender. Previously, transgenders were forced to identify themselves as male or female. In that historic judgement, the apex court also suggested that the Government classify the third gender as economically and socially backward, thereby, making the latter eligible for a wide range of affirmative action benefits. Of course, an order such as this cannot be enforced overnight and the Government is still working to implement the Supreme Court directive. This will also be true of the transgender Bill, which has to go through a gamut of legislative as well as administrative processes before it can be enforced. For one, the Bill calls for coordination with almost a dozen ministries and departments.
Moreover, as a Private Members' Bill, this proposed legislation will have an even tougher road ahead. It is extremely rare for such a Bill, introduced by a Member of Parliament who is not in Government (in this case, DMK leader Tiruchi Siva), to be adopted in either House. Most such Bills lapse without even a single debate. Only 14 Private Members' Bills have been adopted, and the last one was in 1970. To that extent, there is a sense of historicity to this Bill. Now, a transgender Bill has to come before the lok Sabha. The Government has indicated that the Private Members’ Bill passed in the Upper House needs tweaking to eliminate certain ‘infirmities’. But Friday's development shows that, with adequate political will, there's reason to be hopeful.