Having achieved prominence in the State for her activism for the Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, Transgender (LGBT) community, Akkai Padmashali was recently included in the 11-member sub-committee for the implementation of the April 15 Supreme Court judgment on the social integration of transgenders.
Talking to reporters on the sidelines of a legal awareness programme for sexual minorities here on Sunday, Ms. Padmashali – who is also the first male-to-female transgender to be given a drivers’ license with sex as “female” – shares her optimism of uplifting the marginalised community.
How has the committee been functioning so far? Do you think the State government has taken it seriously?
The first meeting was held on June 17 and the second will be held on July 8. We will hold one more meeting before presenting the report to the Chief Minister in the first week of August.
I am the only transgender on the sub-committee, but the rest — officials of the departments of Health, Law, Education, Women and Child Development, Planning, NIMHANS professors, among others — have been very positive. The government has to take the report seriously as it is the directions of the court to implement all the nine-points of their observation.
What are the recommendations like? Do you think a change in the law will ensure a change in the mindset of a society that discriminates against sexual minorities?
An important recommendation is to repeal Section 36A of the Karnataka Police Act which criminalises transgenders by allowing the police to maintain a register of those “suspected” of kidnapping and emasculating boys. Other recommendation include free sex reassignment surgery, giving Below Poverty Line ration cards to transgenders, employment in government departments among others.
The report, which also suggests conducting awareness programmes across the State, will definitely be a step forward in reducing stigmatisation of sexual minorities.
Though the SC allowed transgenders to possess voter identity cards with ‘T’ as the third gender, barely a handful out of the recognised 1,800 transgenders in the district came forward for this. What do you think is the reason?
I blame the enumerators who conduct the census. They ask if the people in the house are male or female. Even if one says transgender, they do not consider it. This is the transphobic nature of the enumerators.
The number of transgenders in Mangalore is much higher, but they are scared because of right-wing elements here, and feel a communal threat.
