RAMANATHAPURAM: The indelible ink mark, a symbol of participation in the world’s largest democratic exercise, holds great value for crores of Indians. For transgender persons, however, it is another avenue where their rights are weighed down by various societal factors.
“The general apathy towards us or our plight has contributed to our lack of interest in voting during the elections,” Mumtaj, a transgender activist from Ramanathapuram, told TNIE.
Even as the participation of transgender voters has increased over the years, with more eligible transgenders registering with the Election Commission of India to exercise their franchise, the participation of transgenders largely remains below 30%.
The situation is no different in Ramanathapuram, which has over 70 registered transgender voters. During the Lok Sabha elections in 2014, 14 transgenders voted, accounting for a mere 17.50% turnout. This further dipped in 2019, when only 8 votes were polled. This year again, just 22 of the 79 transgenders voters cast their votes.
In Madurai and Sivaganga, the situation is not better either. While just 10 of 63 transgenders voted in Sivaganga, 54 transgenders, of a total of 198, voted.
Despite a series of awareness programmes by the government and other organisations, the participation of transgenders remains bleak in several places.
"Though there are more than 250 transgenders in the district, the number of transgender voters is just 79 in Ramanathapuram. Despite struggling for nearly two years, many of us are unable to get voter IDs or other documents. Apart from this, many of our issues remain unresolved.
Though we are provided pattas, they are allotted for lands that are near graveyards or are in far-off places. While we wish to stand on our legs, the lack of financial assistance only adds to our misery. We are even ill-treated in many places. In such situations, many of us are unbothered about voting,” Mumtaj.
“If our issues are addressed, perhaps there would be an increase in voter participation among the transgender community,” Mumtaj added.
Safe Transgender Association president Kajol told TNIE, "Comparatively, the numbers of registered transgender voters are much lower than the number of transgenders who are registered with the transgender welfare board. Many of the transgenders still use their old identity to cast votes, while others are facing issues making changes to their documents.”
Special camps must be organized in every district, to facilitate transgender voters to make changes to their documents, Kajol added.
Priya Babu, a Madurai-based transgender activist, said, "We are a sizeable population now across the nation. Ttransgenders need a reserved constituency so that we can gain representation in the Parliament. Otherwise, transgenders can be provided with a nominated post in the assembly and parliament. Even though we will not get votes in the Parliament, we could at least have representatives there to speak about our issues.”