NCW Organises a Consultation on Accepting Trans Women in India

By: WE Staff | Thursday, 8 September 2022

In order to address the myths that lead to the stigmatisation of the community's members and to start a discussion about their acceptance and participation in society, the National Commission for Women organised the first-ever consultation for transwomen, titled "Inclusion Amplified, Transwomen in India: Problems and Prospects."

The commission aimed to provide a wide forum for academics, researchers, social activists, policymakers, and others through this consultation to assess issues that trans women experience in diverse contexts and to discuss potential solutions, civil society participants and trans women themselves. According to a press release from the NCW, there are instructions and policy suggestions for the welfare of trans-women. Chairman of the National Commission for Women, Rekha Sharma; Radhika Chakravarthy, Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Meeta Rajivlochan, Member Secretary of NCW Senior Commission officials and NCW Joint Secretary Asholi Chalai were present, according to the statement.

Participants in the consultation included NALSA, DLSA, police officers, transgender individuals, and representatives and stakeholders from organisations that support the transgender community. Sahodari Foundation, Humsafar Trust, Mahila Jagrut Sevabhavi Sanstha, Trans Care India, NAZ Foundation, Udaan Trust, Alliance India, and other organisations participated in today's discussion.

Rekha Sharma, the chairperson, stated that a transwoman encounters numerous difficulties in their families and in society in her introductory speech. "This consultation is to know more about the problems and challenges faced by the community members. The constitution gives every citizen the right to live a life of dignity and we have to collectively work towards achieving equality for all. The commission has been taking up complaints from transwomen and through this Consultation, we want to shape the roadmap for redressal of problems faced by them," said Sharma.

Radhika Chakravarthy, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, stated in her speech that the national portal for transgender people offers end-to-end facilities for obtaining benefits from government programmes established for the community and that the only requirement in this regard is a self-disclosed identity document. She also discussed the government's Garima Greh programme, which strives to give transgender people access to basic necessities like housing, food, medical treatment, and recreational facilities.

The panellists commended the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment for its efforts to promote the welfare of transwomen and transgender people. The speakers emphasised the importance of creating a counselling system for transgender people in educational institutions and educating the general public on the issue.

The experts also suggested that a programme be developed to educate transwomen about their legal rights, counsel transwomen's parents and families against abandoning their children, and grant transwomen access to property rights.

The experts also praised the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, and emphasised the importance of its thorough implementation. The need for skill-building workshops for transwomen, medical and social protection plans, access to insurance, implementing an inclusive curriculum in schools to sensitise students and teachers due to the high rate of school dropouts among transgender people, as well as the establishment of a national helpline for transwomen's issues, were also suggested.