by PRASHANT SINGH and GOPI SHANKAR
The nationwide lockdown in India due to the coronavirus pandemic has resulted in substantial economic loss and disproportionately affected Indians belonging to the low-income category. Members of the transgender and intersex community are among the worst-affected sections in the lockdown. These communities now also face a precarious situation.
On 18 April, the Narendra Modi government released the draft rules for the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019. And set 30 April as the last date for submission of comments. As a result of mounting public pressure, the deadline has been extended to 18 May.
The timing of commencing the public consultation process during a pandemic has rightly come under serious criticism from the community. This move shows that the Modi government has not drawn any lesson from its experience of drafting the parent law — the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019.
Further, the language of the draft rules is highly insensitive, and the proposed framework fails to account for the socio-cultural reality and diversity within the transgender and intersex community. The Modi government must suspend the consultation process on the draft rules until the lockdown ends. Read more via The Print