The Central Govt has constituted the national council for transgender persons, headed by the Union social justice minster & comprising representatives from ten central departments, 5 states & members of the community.
The council – India’s first & formed under Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 – was announced in a gazette notification issued late on Friday.
According to the legislation, the council has five main functions -- advising the central government on the formulation of policies, programmes, legislation & projects with respect to transgender persons; monitoring & evaluating the impact of policies & programmes designed for achieving equality & full participation of transgender persons; reviewing & coordinating the activities of all the departments; redressing grievances of transgender persons; & performing such other functions as prescribed by the Centre.
The council will have joint secretary-level members from the ministries of health, home, minority affairs, education, rural development, labour & law. In addition, there will be a member from the department of pensions, Niti Aayog, National Human Rights Commission & National Commission for Women.
Representatives from five states or Union Territories, on a rotational basis, will be members of the commission. The first such clutch comprises Jammu & Kashmir, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Tripura & Gujarat.
5 members of the community & 5 experts, from non-governmental organisations, have also been named to the commission. The tenure of the community members & expert shall be 3 years.
“I am glad that a member from the Northeast region has been appointed to be part of the council. However, there was no transparency in the manner in which the members were selected. This is a matter of concern, said Santa Khurai, Nupi Maanbi & trans rights activist based in Manipur.
Panel member Gopi Shankar M said that “Intersex people are often invisiblised in the legal & policy discourse. The distinction between gender identity & sex characteristics is also not understood. To bring about changes in the existing governance regime, it is important to work & engage with the system. During my tenure in the Council, I plan to raise awareness about rights of intersex people in general & intersex infants & children in particular. I hope to contribute in developing a comprehensive legal protection regime for intersex people".
“My main aim will be to mainstream the trans community’s concerns, focusing on livelihood issues as well as to raise awareness about the trans community, so that transpersons are accepted within families & in the larger society. I look forward to working with the government to achieve this,” said Reshma Prasad, founder of Dostana Safar, a Patna-based community organisation & a member of the newly constituted council.
R Subramanyam, Union Social Justice Secretary, said: “The transgender welfare board would guide the government in welfare schemes for them. This is a landmark event.”
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