In the Gram Panchayat elections held in the state a few years ago, Anjali Sanjana Jan, a third-party community from Bhadli (Bu) village in Jalgaon district, filed her candidature form from the ward reserved for women. However, the concerned Election Returning Officer rejected his application to contest from the ward reserved for women category and he was told that the concerned candidate could contest from the open category. The applicant Anjali Patil appealed to the court of Aurangabad. As per the TransgenderRights Protection Act 2019, a person has the right to choose their gender while the court is passing judgment on this.
Anjali Patil, who filed the petition, said while presenting her opinion that this matter has been clarified in the Supreme Court's 2014 Nalsa verdict. While adjudicating on this, the bench judge. Ravindra Ghuge, while accepting Anjali's election application from the women's category, clarified that in the future, she will not be able to get any concession as a man. By choosing only one category in life, one can contest elections from the same category henceforth, the bench allowed on the basis of the judgment of the Supreme Court and according to the law of 2019.
The Court has emphasized that a person should determine her/his/their gender identity once in a lifetime while allowing it from the female category. Anjali Jaan's gender identity is -. This recognition is expected to be acknowledged and accepted. This is what is said in the nalsa result paper. Therefore forcing a person to accept his identity as male or female is a violation of the Nalsa Act and the Constitution.
What does Priya Patil say in this regard?
In this context, while talking to Priya Patil, the state head of the LGBT cell of the Nationalist Congress Party, she shared her experience regarding the election, 'In the year 2017, Priya Patil went to apply as a candidate for the election from Kurla Ward No. 166 for the Mumbai Municipal Corporation election. It took more than three days for him to apply as a candidate. The main issue was whether the election officer at that time should accept their applications as women or men. On this, Priya Patil filed her own application by mentioning Transgenderwoman as other (others) gender identities.
At that time, her application was accepted, but she was denied the concession given to women while filing an application as a transgender woman. The deposit required to be paid by the male candidate is the same as the deposit required to be paid by them. Speaking to Zainab Patel, a former official of UNDP and a petitioner of the NALSA verdict, he said that the court's decision is against the NALSA verdict and should be appealed again in the High Court.
As a Transgender community in the country as a whole, when it comes to legal matters, this community has to face conflict from time to time. In our country, when writing a person's gender on any kind of document, there are three parts namely female, male and other. Transgender is duly mentioned on the railway reservation form. This gender identity is expected to be acknowledged by mentioning the same in all kinds of documents.
NALSA Result Paper is completing 7 years. During the period 2014 to 2020, we also have constitutional rights due to the NALSA result paper. The community believes we can get it. The NALSA verdict brought freedom of expression, self-respect, and equal rights to the LGBTQ community for the first time. This has given our community a chance to breathe freely in the society and live a dignified life.
Considering how important the 6 years from 2014 to 2020 have been for the community, one thing is certain, the community is raising its voice for its rights. The struggle to live a community life is a complex one. The result of 2014 reaches humanity. But due to the lack of implementation of that decision and insufficient information, the Transgendercommunity is still living the life of the marginalized. The struggle to survive is difficult due to implementation of the NALSA result sheet, the lack of information in the criminal justice system and caste-first view of this community with prejudice.
Gauri Sawant, the appellant of the Nalsa result paper, was the main face for voting appeal and awareness during the Lok Sabha elections in our state. In 2017-18, Dnyaneshwar Mauli Kamble was the first Transgendersarpanch in the state from Tarangphal village in Solapur district. Madhu Kinnar is from the Raigad district of Chhattisgarh. She was working as the first Transgendermayor of Raigad.
Shabnam Mausi became the country's first third-party MLA before the NALSA result from Madhya Pradesh's Bhopal. Islampur 'Jyoita Mondal' of North Dinajpur district of Kolkata has become the first transgender judge. All of them had to fight a lot. As this battle should stop now, it is necessary to work for the recognition of the human rights of Transgender implementing the Nalsa verdict.
In all the elections held in the country women, men, reserved category, open category is officially announced. This provision should be changed to Female/ Male/ Transgender Female/Transgender Male. The Gender Identity Act and the Court intend to accept that Anjali Jaan has called herself a transgender woman rather than identifying as a woman or a man. Articles 324 to 329 of the 15th part of the Constitution contain important provisions regarding the electoral process in the country.
Article 324 provides for an Independent Election Commission. According to Articles 243K and 243ZA of the Constitution, the State Election Commission has been established to carry out the responsibility of local self-government elections. It is the need of the hour to make policy decisions at the state and national levels to have separate gender identities and reserved seats for Transgender through the Commission.
Rights granted to third parties by Nalasa verdict :
- Hijdas, Yunks should be treated as the third gender as per Section III of the Constitution of India and laws passed by the Parliament and State Assemblies from time to time rather than the binary division of male or female.
- Third parties will be treated as self-reported sex/gender. And the State and Central Governments should see to it that they are registered as male, female, or third gender accordingly.
- Central and state governments are being ordered to take necessary steps to provide reservations to Hijras in all places, from admission to social and educational institutions to government recruitment.
- Separate sero-service centers should be run for transgenders for hijras, as they face the most sexual health problems.
- Central and State Governments should take serious note of the issues faced by Hijras such as fear, shame, discomfort about their own sex/gender, social pressure, mental stress, suicidal thoughts, feelings of social stigma, and one Insisting on gender reassignment surgery to reveal one's gender would be considered illegal and immoral.
- The State and Central Governments should provide all kinds of medical care and provide them with separate toilets and separate rest facilities in the dispensaries.
- State and central governments should implement various schemes for its social welfare.
- The state and central governments should plan such social awareness schemes, so that the hijras and third parties believe that they are part of this society.
- Efforts should be made by the State and Central Governments to restore the social and cultural status and dignity to the Hijras / Third Pandits.
