IDEAL INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT &
TECHNOLOGY AND SCHOOL OF LAW,
GGSIPU, NEW DELHI
Subject Name: SOCIO--LEGAL DIMENSIONS OF GENDER
Subject Code: LLB 509
Batch : 2014
Submitted To:- Submitted By:-
Dr. Vijeta Verma Rajat Gupta (05013403814)
Senior Assistant Professor Priyal Dwivedi (08113403814)
IIMT & School of Law Shrishti Singh (09313403814)
Diwakar Singh (09013403814)
BA LLB (Hons.)
5 Year (9 Sem.)
IIMT & School of Law
SOCIO-LEGAL
DIMENSIONS OF
THIRD GENDER
INTRODUCTION
• Transgender people are individuals of any age or sex whose
appearance, personal characteristics, or behaviours differ from
stereotypes about how men and women are ‘supposed’ to be.
• Transgender people have a gender identity or gender
expression that differs from their assigned sex.
• Transgender is also an umbrella term in addition to including people
whose gender identity is the opposite of their assigned sex (trans
men and trans women).
• Third gender or third sex is a concept in which individuals are
categorized, either by themselves or by society, as
neither man nor woman
• The term third is usually understood to mean “other”.
• Main problems that are being faced by the transgender community
are of discrimination, unemployment, lack of educational facilities,
homelessness, lack of medical facilities: like HIV care and hygiene,
depression, hormone pill abuse, tobacco and alcohol abuse,
penectomy, and problems related to marriage and adoption.
• Transgenders have very limited employment opportunities.
• Transgenders have no access to bathrooms/toilets and public
spaces. The lack of access to bathrooms and public spaces access
is illustrative of discrimination faced by transgenders in availing
each facilities and amenities.
• They face similar problems in prisons, hospitals and schools.
Constitutional Rights of Transgender People
• Preamble to the Constitution mandates Justice - social, economic,
and political equality of status.
Thus the first and foremost right that they are deserving of is the
right to equality under Article 14.
• Article 15 speaks about the prohibition of discrimination on the
ground of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth.
• Article 21 ensures right to privacy and personal dignity to all the
citizens.
• Article 23 prohibits trafficking in human beings as beggars and
other similar forms of forced labour and any contravention of these
provisions shall be an offence punishable in accordance with law.
The Constitution provides for the fundamental right to equality, and
tolerates no discrimination on the grounds of sex, caste, creed or
religion.
HISTORY OF TRANSGENDERS
• The abominable state of the third gender can be traced back from
the colonial era, when the legislation was enacted to supervise the
deeds of Hijras/Third Gender (TG) community, called the Criminal
Tribes Act, 1871, which deemed the entire community of Hijras
persons as innately ‘criminal’ and ‘addicted to the systematic
commission of non-bailable offences’.
• The Act provided for the registration, surveillance and control of
certain criminal tribes and eunuchs and had penalized eunuchs,
who were registered, and appeared to be dressed or ornamented
like a woman, in a public street or place. Such persons also could
be arrested without warrant and sentenced to imprisonment up to
two years or fine or both.
• Section 377 of the IPC found a place in the Indian Penal Code,
1860, prior to the enactment of Criminal Tribles Act that criminalized
all penile-non-vaginal sexual acts between persons, including anal
sex and oral sex, at a time when transgender persons were also
typically associated with the prescribed sexual practices.
• Reference may be made to the judgment of the Allahabad High
Court in Queen Empress v. Khairati (1884) ILR 6 All 204, wherein
a transgender person was arrested and prosecuted u/s 377 on the
suspicion that he was a ‘habitual sodomite’ and was later acquitted
on appeal.
• This judicial legislation plays in contrast to the historical times in
India where TG Community had got a strong historical presence in
our country in the Hindu mythology and other religious texts.
• Lord Rama, in Ramayana, impressed with their devotion, sanctions
them the power to confer blessings on 11 people on auspicious
occasions like childbirth and marriage, and also at inaugural
functions.
• Jain Texts also make a detailed reference to TG which mentions the
concept of ‘psychological sex’. Hijras also played a prominent role in
the royal courts of the Islamic world, especially in the Ottaman
empires and the Mughal rule in the Medieval India.
• The abject conditions of the Transgender communities have been
redressed through a step taken by The National Legal Services
Authority, constituted under the Legal Services Authority Act, 1997,
to provide free legal services to the weaker and other marginalized
sections of the society, has come forward to advocate their cause.
• In 2009, India’s Election Commission took a first step by allowing
transgenders to choose their gender as “other” on ballot forms.
• The aforementioned judgment is buttressed by the recent landmark
judgment (April,2014) by Justice KS Radhakrishnan, who headed
the two-judge Supreme Court bench, which recognition to
transgenders as the third gender.
• The landmark ruling asks the Centre and state governments to treat
them as socially and ‘economically backward classes’, to enable
them to get reservations in jobs and education.
• This goes along with the court’s decision to grant them all facilities
including a voters ID, passport and driving license.
• Further, The Centre and States were also directed to take steps for
bringing the community into the mainstream by providing adequate
healthcare, education and employment.
CASE STUDY
SHABNAM MAUSI
• Shabnam “Mausi” Bano is the first transgender Indian or Hijra to be
elected to public office. She was an elected member of the Madhya
Pradesh State Legislative Assembly from 1998 to 2003
(Hijra’s were granted voting rights in 1994 in India).
• Shabnam Mausi was elected from the Sohagpur constituency in
Madhya Pradesh state of India. As a member of the Legislative
Assembly, her agenda includes fighting corruption, unemployment,
poverty, and hunger in her constituency.
• Shabnam Mausi also intends to use her position in the Legislative
Assembly to speak out against discrimination of Hijra’s as well as to
raise awareness on HIV/AIDS.
• Shabnam Mausi inspired a lot of Hijra’s in India to take up politics
and participate in ‘mainstream activities’ in India, giving up their
traditional roles as dancers, prostitutes, and beggars, living on the
fringes of Indian society; for example they sometimes attend
weddings or the house of a new born child offering services to ward
off bad luck.
• In 2003, Hijra’s in Madhya Pradesh have announced establishing
their own political party called “Jeeti Jitayi Politics” (JJP), which
literally means ‘politics that has already been won’. In 2005, a fiction
feature film titled ‘Shabnam Mausi’ was made about her life.
• Although she is no longer in public office, Shabnam Mausi continues
to participate actively in AIDS/HIV with NGOs and gender activists in
India.
LAXMI NARAYAN TRIPATHI
• She is the first transgender person to represent Asia Pacific in the
UN.
• Laxmi has served on the boards of several NGOs which conduct
LGBT activist work.
• In 2002 she became president of the NGO DAI Welfare Society, the
first registered and working organization for eunuchs in South Asia.
TO RISE UP FOR
TRANSGENDER RIGHTS
• Gauri Sawant ,a Transgender, participated in KBC 9 with
singer Usha Uthup.
• She made appearance under KBC’s Nayi Chaah Nayi Raah
initiative in Season 9 of the show.
• KBC & Sony team along with veteran actor Amitabh
Bachchan & veteran singer Usha Uthup took the well known
reality game show platform KBC to make people aware
about the transgender issues in India.
• Gauri played for the prize money for the construction of a
residential complex for the children of sex workers.
• She was shown in the video of her story which filmed for
Mother’s Day in 2017.
• Gauri Sawant told that the young girl who played the role of
her daughter in short film, is not her daughter.
• Gauri said that she doesn't want to expose her daughter to
the world till she 18 years of age & she doesn’t want to spoil
her life.
• The issue that the show raised was about the rights of
transgender people for adoption and maintenance of
children & Gauri even mentioned that a case is going on in
the court about the aforesaid issue.
PRESENT CONDITION OF
TRANSGENDERS
Present Socio-Economic Condition of
Transgender people in India
• Presently, commonly known as transsexuals, cross dressers, and
eunuchs, these transgender people live in a separate community
and they lead their life by dancing and singing.
• It is reported that some of them earn their livelihood by begging or
prostitution, which is neither prestigious nor hygienic for their safe
living.
• In reality, neither they are considered as members of mainstream
community, nor are they given general respect as a common
human being.
• The worst part of their identity is despite knowing that neither these
people are neither male nor female, society enforces them to select
between the identity of a male or a female.
THANK YOU
