Transgender rights bill gets House nod as activists protest
› We have been saying for three years that we don’t want this bill. We will challenge this bill...
GRACE BANU, Activist
NEW DELHI : The Rajya Sabha on Tuesday passed the Transgender (Protection of Rights) Bill 2019, defeating an Opposition motion to send the bill to a select committee and sparking protest by activist groups who said they will challenge the law in court.
The bill, which was passed by the Lok Sabha in August, will become law after the social justice ministry formulates the rules for its implementation. Union minister minister Thawar Chand Gehlot told the Upper House that efforts will be made to incorporate the suggestions presented by Opposition members.
A motion by Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam MP Tiruchi Siva to send the bill to a select committee was defeated 67 Nos to 48 Ayes, with one abstention. “We can wait for another six weeks till the next session for such a crucial bill’s scrutiny for slow and steady legislation. The bill in the present form has several lacunae,” Siva said. The bill has seen several iterations, and became the topic of discussion among civil society and the state. Last week, the Upper House took the bill up for discussion, and 30 members raised questions. Parties such as the Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party, Congress and Biju Janata Dal objected to the bill.
A controversial provision in the bill was the stipulation of a maximum sentence of two years for sexual violence committed against trans persons, while the Indian Penal Code provision for violence committed against women is up to seven years.
On Tuesday, Gehlot clarified that all provisions of the IPC will be applicable for transpersons too, and added that the two-year sentence was only with respect to sexual abuse, and not rape. “It is sad that the bill was passed on Constitution Day, where key fundamental rights of liberty and equality have not been upheld,” said Sowmya Gupta, a Delhibased activist.
Activist groups said they are planning to hold protests across India and challenge the law in court once it gets notified. “We will challenge this bill and protest across India,” said Grace Banu, a Tamil Nadu-based activist.
“The bill was passed in a great hurry, and affects the lives of several trans people. Once you are trans on paper, you will be unprotected by laws around sexual violence. This is an impossible choice to place before trans persons,” said Karthik Bittu Kondaiah, an associate professor at Ashoka University.
Siva moved a private member’s bill — the Rights of Transgender Persons bill, 2014 — which was passed by the Rajya Sabha in 2015. In 2016, the government introduced its version of the bill, which was referred to a parliamentary standing committee. Its report suggesting several amendments was submitted in July 2017. The new bill incorporated some of the recommendations, but retained the provision of certificates to transpersons as transgender, man or woman, based on possible surgery. In 2014, the Supreme Court passed the National Legal Services Authority vs Union of India verdict, which stated that any government insistence on proof of having undergone surgery to establish one’s gender is “illegal and immoral”. The latest bill, introduced in July 2019 amended certain controversial clauses, including that of medical screening.