Alors que la France légalise le mariage gay, l'Inde s'apprête à reconnaître le "troisième sexe"...
SC seeks govts' stands on transgenders' rights
SC seeks govts' stands on transgenders' rights
New Delhi, Oct 1 (PTI) The Supreme Court
today sought the stands of the Centre and various state governments on a plea
for declaring transgenders as citizens with a third category of gender and
demanding equal protection and rights for them.
A bench of justices K S Radhakrishnan and
Dipak Misra also issued notices to four Union ministries -- the Social Justice
and Empowerment, the Women and Child Development, the Urban and Rural
Development and the Health and Family Welfare on a petition complaining that
transgenders have been deprived of many of their fundamental rights and
privileges which other persons enjoy as citizens.
The Public Interest Litigation (PIL)
petition, filed by the National Legal Services Authority, the statutory body
mandated to provide free legal services to the weaker sections of the society
and organise Lok Adalats for amicable resolution of disputes, also sought
reservation for transgenders in educational institutions and job opportunities
in public and private sectors, either as a separate category or as being a
backward class.
Senior advocate L Nageshwar Rao and counsel
Indira Sawhney submitted that transgenders are deprived of their fundamental
rights available to the other two sexes - males and females, and are not
considered as the third sex.
"The transgenders are deprived of social
and cultural participation, are shunned by family and society, have only
restricted access to education, health services and public spaces and have
restricted rights as citizens such as right to marry, right to contest
elections, right to vote, employment and livelihood opportunities and various
human rights such as voting, obtaining passport, driving licence, ration card,
identity card etc.
"The transgenders are treated as legal
non-entity in violation of Articles 14, 15, 16 and 21 of the Constitution," the
PIL said.
Elaborating upon the plight of
transgenders, also called 'Hijras', the petition mentioned the judgement of the
Madhya Pradesh High Court which in 2003 had upheld the election of a eunuch,
Kamala Jaan, to the post of Katni mayor.
An election tribunal earlier had nullified
his/her election on the ground that it was a seat reserved for women and "Kamla
Jaan, being a 'male' was not entitled to contest the
seat."
"It is submitted that all citizens have a
right to vote and to contest elections. But in the electoral rolls only two
categories of the sex are mentioned - male and female. This is unfair to the
third sex of India as they are deprived of their statutory right to vote and
contest elections," the petition said.
The PIL said in such a background there was
a need for a direction to include "transgender" as a third category of sex in
providing various opportunities or facilities, including in application forms
for election card, passport, driving licence, identification card, ration card,
admission to educational institutions and for provision of medical treatment,
hospitalisation, toilet facilities etc.
The plea added that there was a need to
recognise the right of transgenders to adopt children and to marry and for grant
of legal status to the community so that they get financial support and help for
free sex reassignment surgery and other treatments in government
hospitals.
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