NEW DELHI: With the winter session of Parliament scheduled to begin on November 18, trans people and their allies await the Rajya Sabha’s impending decision on the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill 2019. The Lok Sabha passed this government bill on August 5 —without the debate and discussion it warrants— on the same day that Article 370 guaranteeing Jammu and Kashmir’s constitutional autonomy was declared void.

Many have voiced their protest against the bill, calling August 5 ‘Gender Justice Murder Day’. These arguments received minimal press and public attention and the bill is expected to be passed by the Rajya Sabha. Dissenting views have disappeared from the headlines. The arguments raised against the bill relate to its politics of identification, the certification process it proposes, its denial of affirmative action to the community, and the lenient penalties proposed for violent crimes against trans folk.

“While you acknowledge us as transgender people, we don’t have the right to get married, to adopt children. Those rights have not been included. You have given us an acknowledgement, but what you are asking us to do is live a life without human rights,” said Abhina Aher, transgender activist and associate director at the India HIV/AIDS Alliance.

The bill’s very name has been criticised. “I am really wondering what this title ‘protection’ means?” said Akkai Padmashali, transgender and social activist at the Ondede Organisation. “The government needs to ensure that people’s freedom is not curbed. It is not about protection. What we want is that society should be aware, it should be non-discriminatory, it should not stigmatise people based on their identity or professions.”
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