By Virginia Saldanha

Mumbai, Dec 2, 2019: The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2019 was passed in parliament on the same day as the abrogation of article 370, with hardly any debate. Worst of all, there were some MPs who were seen on TV smirking and making fun during the passing of the bill.

“How do you think I felt when I saw this?” questioned a young trans-person I met at the protest against the unacceptable provisions in the bill, at Dadar Station on November 30. “Whether it be on the road or in Parliament, why are we belittled, made fun of, and called names?”

This question was asked repeatedly by several young transpersons with great pain in their voices. Attending the protest was a time of deep awareness of what this marginalized group of human beings go through on a day to day basis. Their very humanity is questioned, denied and joked about. A painful experience for any human person.

The Rajya Sabha passed the Bill on November 26, paving the way for it to be made into law. The BJP government passes a bill which has failed to seriously take into consideration the proposed provisions put forward by representatives of the community.

“There is nothing affirmative in the Policy and Intersex persons are completely left out!” said Dan, one of the young leaders speaking at the protest. The BJP being a Hindu party has viewed the reality of Trans persons from the Hindu concept of ‘ardhanarishwara’–an androgynous deity that comprises the merged forms of Shiva the destroyer and his female consort.

This forms the religious foundation for the acceptance of transgender people in India, and explains their presence at auspicious occasions in the Hindu tradition. It has failed to view the reality of Trans persons from a secular lens which would be in keeping with the constitution of the country.

The most pernicious provision of the Bill is the insistence on Trans persons now having to submit to a certification process involving a government official and doctor. This required procedure does not respect the autonomy of Transpersons to determine their own identity and sexuality. The procedure of insisting that they submit to medical procedures and approach a government official further creates opportunities for “cis gender” people to harass them and even sexually abuse them.

One Trans person said, “Imagine our humiliation when the doctor demands that we strip naked. As a doctor, does he not know about Trans persons? They ask us embarrassing questions about our sex life and genitals making the process of going to any doctor is a dread we would rather avoid.” But, since obtaining such certification from the government is necessary for them to access any kind of services like medical, education, or concessions, this community has no option but to submit to this humiliating process. The Bill mandates “surgery” to enable to the applicants to identify as ‘male’ or ‘female’ to avail of the so called “protections”.

Christy pointed out that the experience in homes is no less painful. Parents socialised in the gender binary, force children to be “normal” because they feel ashamed of a child who is “different from the norm.”

Often intersex children or even babies are submitted to “corrective surgery” to make them conform to the gender binary. The pressure to conform to social expectations makes life difficult in the home and often children want to move out. Formerly children left and joined the Trans community where they felt welcomed and cared for.

This Bill now makes this an impossibility because children are compelled to stay with their parents or approach a court who will then move them to a state rehabilitation center. We all know how these State institutions function. They turn out to be hell holes for children.

Is the other option suicide? In what way does the Bill make Trans persons feel protected?

Another young Trans person pointed out that while the punishment for rape of a woman is 7 years, the rape of a Trans person attracts a punishment of just 2 years, and bail for the same can be made at the level of the police station itself. While in the case of rape of a woman bail can only be made in a court of law. They feel that contrary to being a protection, the bill seems to incentivise the rape of trans persons, thus placing them in greater danger of being sexually harassed.

The Bill is now with the President and the Trans-community hopes that he will take note of their protests and order a review.

In India, we are all familiar with Trans persons. We come across them in public spaces, usually begging, because as they point out, no one is ready to employ them. This bill prohibits begging by trans persons. Without making society sensitive, and public spaces more friendly by changing attitudes through a process of education, how can the government expect these gender/sexual minorities to earn a decent living. They are human beings created by God just like everyone else. Should they be made to suffer for something that they are not responsible for? Neither are their parents! It is just something that does happens in nature.

I told young Dan that I am sure that Jesus would not treat him the way he has been experiencing marginalization in his faith community. I left the protest wondering what I as a Catholic could do to make this substantial group of Trans persons experience the life in abundance that Christ came to offer all people.