SC ruling prompts maiden move on transgender rehab

A West Bengal Women Development undertaking on Tuesday held the first consultation meet on rehabilitation and welfare of transgender people, inviting several NGOs working in this field to discuss the many “grievances” affecting the community.
The meeting, organised by State Resource Centre for Women (SRCW) and attended by Shashi Panja (Minister of State for Department of Women & Child Development and Social Welfare) and June Malia (Member, West Bengal Women’s Commission), comes in the backdrop of the Supreme Court’s historic ruling in April this year when it granted legal recognition to transgender people as ‘third gender’ and ordered the Centre and the states to recognise them as a class apart from male and female.

Among the many SC directives that the meeting touched upon included grant of reservations to the community, which the court paved way for by declaring the transgender people as “a socially and economically backward class”.

“Reservations under the OBC category will leave the community open to discrimination again. We need to have a separate section in the OBC category for them,” said Aniruddha Dutta, Assistant Professor in the departments of Gender, Women’s and Sexuality Studies at the University of Iowa, USA.

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The participating NGOs voiced health concerns prevalent among the community members, while pointing out the need to “sensitise people (working) in the health sector”. “As of now, we are treated very badly. Doctors even refuse to treat us,” said Shintu of Anandam, an LGBT group under Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee.

Although the meeting failed to draw a conclusive plan despite several views being exchanged, the participants praised the initiative. “We are happy that the state government is finally recognizing our rights,” one of the NGOs representative said.
Later, Panja requested the organisations to approach her with a proper presentation.