Third Gender in India

Concept of Sex and Gender
The concept of Sex and Gender is
distinct from each other. Sex is the
biological differences between Males
and Females, identified by two
characteristics. The primary
characteristic of sex is the reproductive
system, and the secondary
characteristics of sex are such as height
and muscularity. On the other hand,
Gender is the degree of femininity
and masculinity exhibited by a person.
The characteristics of gender may vary
between different societies. A person's
sex is identified by his/her biological
trait whereas the gender identity is the
individual's self-conception of being
male or female based on his/her
association with masculine or feminine
gender roles. Therefore, the terms sex
and gender are not interchangeable.

Homosexuality and
Sexual Orientation
Homosexuality is referred to the
attraction towards the individuals of
one's own sex .It is a sub-category of
Sexual orientation, which is a
person's physical, romantic and
emotional attraction to a particular
sex, whether it may be male or
female. There is a term called
Gender role, which is the society's
concept of how men and women
should act and behave. But when
the persons act and behave opposite
to their prescribed gender role they
are marked as Homosexuals by the
society. This class of homosexuals is
collectively referred to as LGBTQ,
which stands for " Lesbian, Gay,
Bisexual, Transgendered and Queer".

Who are Transgenders? • Transgendered individuals are
those whose gender identity does
not match with their sexual
identity. Transgendered males
exhibits a strong emotional and
psychological connection to the
feminine identity and consider
themselves as of female gender.
Same goes with the
transgendered females who
identify themselves as of male
gender. They are the people who
transgress social gender norms
and are marked as different and
less worthy by the dominant
cultural patterns of interpretation
and valuation. Their sexuality is
interpreted as "Deviant" and
devalued.

Discriminatory
Treatment of
Third Gender in
India
•face mocking, ignorance, shaming and assault
•low-status ethnic groups
•sexuality is interpreted as deviant and devalued
•kept aside from the general society
•clubbing into community of LGBTIQ
•Heterosexism and Transphobia
•exclusion from the educational and health care systems
•lack of education and access to job opportunities
•livelihood by singing and dancing and prostitution
•denied the full rights and protections of citizenship
•curbs on their rights of expression and association
•absence of sexual autonomy
•face police brutality

Supporting
the Third
Gender:
Bringing
Social
Change
• To be supportive of the transgender community, it is imperative to
understand their plight especially, in India, where they have been
portrayed with abnormal differentness and therefore, robbed of their
basic human dignity.
• The thing to understand, first and foremost, is what is meant by
“transgender”. It indicates a transgression, of general social gender
norms — to be "transgender" is to defy rigid, binary constructions of
gender and to live beyond gender roles expected by society.
• Another measure is to de-stigmatize transgender sexuality. This is the
most essential step in harboring their dignity, and ending their ending
a long term in social exclusion.
• Labels are the real enemy here. Perceiving of members of a certain
gender, in turn, initiates the process of formation of social
stereotypes.
• Transgenders, have treated by the society, with a combination of
"fascination, revulsion, and fear“. Societies, as a whole, have never
been tolerant of alternative sexualities, and have always conformed
to patriarchy, seeking refuge from social change and generative
actors.

Landmark
Judgements
• •On April 15, 2014, the Supreme Court of India gave a historic
judgement in the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) vs Union
of India case, declaring transgender people to be the “third gender”
in India. According to this judgement, transgender people had the
right to be treated equally under the Constitution of India, they had
the right to self-identification (identifying one’s gender as male,
female, or third gender), and, most importantly, they were to be
recognized as socially and economically backward classes, thereby
making them eligible for reservations in jobs and educational
institutions.
• •In K.S. Puttaswamy v. UOI (2017), the court addressed the denial of
privacy rights to transgenders.
• •In Navtej Singh Johar v. UOI (2018), the five-judge bench of the
Indian Supreme Court unanimously held that Section 377 of the IPC,
which criminalized ‘carnal intercourse against the order of nature’,
was unconstitutional. With this, the Court overruled its decision
in Suresh Koushal v. Naz Foundation, that had upheld the
constitutionality of Section 377.
• •These judgements ensured the fundamental rights of LGBT+
community under article 14, 15, 16, 21 and 23.

Transgender
Persons
(Protection
of Rights)
Act, 2019
•Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 codifies the
laws dealing with prohibition of discrimination against a transgender
person, including denial of service or unfair treatment in relation to
education, employment, healthcare, access to or enjoyment of
goods/facilities, right to movement, right to reside, opportunity to
hold public/private office and access to a government or private
establishment.
•The bill states that relevant government will take measures to
ensure the full inclusion and participation of transgender persons in
society.
•Under the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, National
Council for Transgender Persons is established by the central
government.
•The council is to advise the central government as well as monitor
the impact of policies, legislations and projects with respect to
transgender persons. It is also supposed to redress the grievances of
transgender persons.
•Though there are no provisions in the act regarding transgender
marriage, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court in Arun
Kumar v. Inspector General of Registration upheld that the term
‘bride’, as mentioned in Section 5 of the Hindu Marriage Act
includes transgender persons as well.

Inclusive
Planning
(There is
nothing wrong
with you there
is a lot wrong
with the world
you live in)
• In April 2014, in a landmark judgement, the Supreme Court of India
allotted the ‘third gender’ status to transgenders. The judgement was
aimed at providing employment opportunities to the socially-
backward community and help ease access to educational institutes.
• While this was a huge victory, we still have a long way to go, as far as
their acceptance in society is concerned. That, however, is something
that will come gradually.
• In an effort to help the transgender community, the Centre is
considering opening shelter homes for them. The project will run for
an year in three to five states, and each shelter home will
accommodate 25 people.
• The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment will soon put out a
formal notice for the NGOs for running shelter homes.
• In these shelter homes, they will supposedly have access to skill
training programs for professional courses, that they can choose to
pursue. The ministry is also planning to tie up with the National
Institute of Social Defense, and National Backward Classes Finance &
Development Corporation, in order to impart skills to transgenders.