Members Of India’s Trans Community Protest Proposed ‘Trans Bill’
By Ashish Valentine

Members Of India’s Trans Community Protest Proposed ‘Trans Bill’
By Ashish ValentineTransgender 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.