Members Of India’s Trans Community Protest Proposed ‘Trans Bill’
By Ashish ValentineMembers Of India’s Trans Community Protest Proposed ‘Trans Bill’
By Ashish Valentine
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Transgender rights activists in India have called December 17, 2019 a “Black Day.” That’s when the lower house of India’s parliament hurriedly passed the Transgender Persons’ Protection of Rights Bill. Activists argue that the well-intentioned bill, written up as an implementation of the Supreme Court’s 2014 order obliging the central government to do more to protect trans rights, proposes a regressive notion of gender identity without providing the material protections. Activists also criticize the fact that the law was drafted without the input of trans-identifying people. Bangladeshi-American trans activist and Trikone Chicago board member Sal Salam joins us to discuss gender and sexual identity in India.