Are there any special schemes for the transgenders to deal with the problems faced by them?
17 Apr, 2014
In a reply by the Union ministry of social justice and empowerment to an application filed under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, it has been admitted that no separate reservation is given to transgender persons. However, the eunuchs are entitled to reservation as per policy of the government of India available to SC/ST/OBC category, if they belong to these categories. The response was given on January 27, 2014 by the Union ministry of social justice and empowerment to RTI applicant Sanjay Sharma.
The Office of Registrar General & Census Commissioner informed that on the census enumeration sheet, there are three codes mentioning the sex of the person and the family members. Code 1 stands for male, code 2 stands for female, while code 3 includes those belonging to other categories. Any person including transgender can voluntarily mention themselves in the other category just as transgenders may mention themselves as male or female. The reply mentions that giving an exact count of the transgenders in the country is difficult due to this reason.
The ministry of social justice and empowerment has been mandated by the Cabinet Secretariat to deal with the subject of the transgender and the report of the expert committee constituted on October 22, 2013 to look into problems faced by the transgender community is expected to be submitted shortly. The Supreme Court judgment granting legal recognition to transgenders or eunuchs as third gender category has been welcomed by a large section of society and is likely to help them in facing the problems faced by them.