Transgender Bill Regressive, Misplaced: Mahila Congress

New Delhi, Nov 20 (PTI) The women's wing of the Congress party, All India Mahila Congress (AIMC), criticised the Transgender Bill tabled in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, calling it "regressive" and "misplaced".

A statement issued by AIMC national president and former MP Sushmita Dev said, "Codifying transgender rights is the product of one of the longest and most powerful transgender rights movements, but what has been tabled is a travesty of justice. The bill is regressive and misplaced and moves away from the broader intersectional framework, which was the real aspiration of the community."

The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2019, which seeks to provide a mechanism for social, economic and educational empowerment of transgender people, was tabled for consideration and passage in the Upper House by Social Justice Minister Thawar Chand Gehlot.

In its statement, the AIMC said the bill goes against the spirit of equality.

"The bill goes against the spirit of equality. Instead of the freedom to determine their gender, India's transgender people must now submit to a certification process by a screening committee involving a government official and a doctor," the statement said.

It also said the bill violated the privacy of a transgender person.

"It is violative of human rights when we penalise a community for truly being who they are," the AIMC said.

The bill was passed in the Lok Sabha on August 5.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)