On August 5, 2019, the Lok Sabha passed a bill which provides a mechanism for social, economic and educational empowerment of transgenders.
The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill 2019 was introduced on July 19, 2019, and was passed by a voice vote amid noisy protests by some opposition parties over Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury not being allowed to speak on his adjournment notice.
Replying on the bill, Rattan Lal Kataria, Minister of State for Social Justice said that it makes 'provision for establishing a national authority for safeguarding rights of transgenders'.
As per Hindustan Times, the minister also mentioned that according to the 2011 census there are more than 4.80 lakh transgenders in the country. He further added that the bill consists of provisions for penalty and punishment in cases of offences and sexual harassment against transgenders.
However, another report reveals that the trans community in India is rejecting this bill as 'the bill is equal to killing trans people'.
“The Bill is equal to killing trans people. The government is supposed to draft laws and schemes for the people but this Bill is totally against the people,” activist Grace Banu told TheNewsMinute
“For us, this Bill is just an empty white paper. It does not change the lives of trans people. We gave a list of demands but this government as usual ignored it. With this Bill, they have proved that they are against minorities. We are totally disappointed and we will mark this as a ‘Gender Justice Murder Day’,” she said.
The bill that was passed on Monday by Lok Sabha states that a person will have the right to choose to be identified as a man, woman or transgender person, irrespective of sex reassignment surgery and hormonal therapy.
The bill also states that transgender persons need to go through a district screening committee to get certified as a trans person.
Another bill that the Lok Sabha passed on August 5, 2019, was the Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill 2019. The bill bans commercial surrogacy and allows only close relatives of infertile couples to volunteer for “ethical altruistic" reasons.
Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said, “It is the ‘need of the hour’ to have such a bill and it is unfortunate that the country had emerged as a hub of commercial surrogacy in recent years."
The bill prohibits foreigners, NRIs and PIOs from commissioning surrogacy in the country. As per TOI, the bill also bars singles, homosexuals and a live-in couple from applying for surrogacy.
The bill states that only the couples who have been married for at least five years and possess a certificate from a doctor stating that they are unfit to bear a child will be allowed to opt for surrogacy.
Earlier the bill was passed by Lok Sabha in December 2018 but did not get a nod in the upper house. However, it is unfair to the women in the country who are deprived of rights for their own body.
Why are there laws around women and their bodies? Scroll also pointed out the fact that men get paid for donating their sperms but women are always asked to sacrifice themselves for the greater good. Why do they have to abide by the rules and regulations, unlike men in the country?
Source - BI