The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government has started the process of establishing a Transgender Welfare Board in Delhi, reported The Times of India (TOI).
According to the report, Rajendra Pal Gautam, Delhi Minister wrote to the social welfare department asking it to form a committee to conduct a comprehensive study on the condition of transgender people in the capital.
The committee is likely to be set up within a week and will include two representatives of the transgenders, officials from social welfare department and representatives from organisations working at different levels for the welfare of the transgenders.Rajendra Pal Gautam, Delhi Minister told TOI
The committee will collect information pertaining to education, employment, health schemes and the status of the constitutional rights of transgender citizens, which will then be included in the report of the Transgender Welfare Board.
The government will then initiate schemes for their development and give them equality in society.Rajendra Pal Gautam, Delhi Minister told TOI
Speaking to TOI, NGOs claim that most transgender citizens don’t have identity cards. And they continue to suffer on the educational front as going to schools will make them vulnerable to discrimination.
The Supreme Court of India had recognised transgenders as the “third gender” in the year 2014, for the first time. However, the TOI report goes on to state that according to a survey conducted by an NGO in Delhi, it was found out that most of transgenders were deprived of mainstream employment and they continue to battle with their identity.
(The Quint is now on WhatsApp. To receive handpicked stories on topics you care about, subscribe to our WhatsApp services. Just go to TheQuint.com/WhatsApp and hit send)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)