Athawale bats for transgenders' reservation

The quota for transgenders should be fixed similar to what is fixed for the disabled," he said. There is three per cent quota for the differently-abled people.

New Delhi, Dec 11: Union minister Ramdas Athawale has batted for reservation for transgenders in government jobs on the lines of quota fixed for disabled people. "They (transgenders) are also humans and they should be given reservation.

The quota for transgenders should be fixed similar to what is fixed for the disabled," he said. There is three per cent quota for the differently-abled people.

The government had introduced Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2016, in Lok Sabha during the Monsoon Session. The bill seeks to define the term transgender and prohibits discrimination against the community.

There were reports that in draft of this bill, the government had proposed bringing transgender under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category, which was rejected by the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC).

The bill has now been referred to a parliamentary panel, which has invited public suggestions to involve the community in making of the law which seeks to protect their rights. The bill confers the right upon transgenders to be recognised as such and also grants them the right to "self- perceived" gender identity.

According to the 2011 Census, India has six lakh people belonging to the transgender community. The community is among the most marginalised in the country because they don't fit into the categories of the two recognised genders of men and women.

They face issues ranging from social exclusion and discrimination to lack of education and medical facilities, and unemployment.

PTI