NEW DELHI: Amid widespread protests and demands for the withdrawal of the proposed Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Bill, the Lok Sabha will take up the bill for consideration and passage on Tuesday.
According to the list of business issued by the Lok Sabha secretariat, Union Minister Dr Virendra Kumar will move the Bill to amend the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, for its passage.
The proposed changes in the Bill have sparked protests across the country with Transgender rights activists and members of the trans community demanding its immediate withdrawal, terming it 'discriminatory'.
The Bill, which was introduced in the Lok Sabha by Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment Virendra Kumar on March 13, seeks to give a precise definition of the term 'transgender' and exclude 'different sexual orientations and self-perceived sexual identities' from the proposed law's ambit.
On Sunday, several Opposition MPs and transgender rights activists called for the Bill to be withdrawn, saying the proposed changes could dilute their rights.
The members of the community say that the proposed Bill departs from principles laid down by the Supreme Court in the landmark judgement of National Legal Services Authority vs Union of India.
The community members allege that the Bill proposes a restrictive redefinition of transgender persons and undermines the dignity, autonomy and constitutional rights of transgender, intersex, and genderqueer persons.
Many also point out that the Bill’s requirement of medical scrutiny and mandatory disclosure of sensitive surgical information violates the fundamental right to privacy as granted by the Supreme Court in the Puttaswamy judgment (2017), which recognised privacy, including bodily autonomy and decisional freedom.
Activists also point out that the Bill recommends changes to Section 18 of the Act by introducing an ambiguous framework, along with stricter punishments for several offences clearly overlapping with existing criminal laws, and adds to the confusion.
These changes strengthen harmful stereotypes by linking transgender identity with crime and coercion, say the community members.
The proposed changes also criminalise transgender individuals and their kin or allies by rigorous imprisonment of up to five years for 'alluring' or 'forcing' individuals to become transgender, despite a lack of credible evidence or documentation of such conduct in India, they said.
”The language used in the Bill is vague, broad and violates fundamental rights, and if passed, will lead to misuse and violence, affecting an already marginalised community and discouraging open expression of identity”, the community members said.