Sitara Begum, a transwoman and B.Ed graduate from Nellore, was denied a shot at District Selection Committee (DSC) examination, 2014, as the application form had no slot for the third gender. Her application was rejected as her educational records showed her gender as male and name as Mastan Basha, an identity which she had earlier shed as she underwent a sex reassignment surgery.
Like Ms. Begum who had come to Hyderabad to fight for her right to employment in the joint capital, about 100 transgender women and men came together at Indira Park on Sunday demanding implementation of National Legal Services Authority (Nalsa) vs Government of India Judgement of 2014.
The Nalsa judgment ensures members of the transgender and hijra community reservation in government jobs apart from other benefits, including right to housing and medical services. Several among the protesters were those who were denied employment despite having undergraduate and postgraduate degrees. The protest was organised by Telangana Transgender Hijra Intersex Samiti.
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Also a differently-abled person, Ms. Begum said that government intervention was a must for their survival. “Most of us who are denied jobs have no option but to beg or be sex workers. We need immediate government intervention in ensuring job security for us,” Ms. Begum said. Another transwoman, Ms. Chandramukhi, shared the same woe as she had failed to get a job despite having a B.Com degree. “I lost my job as a television show anchor and I have not got another one in spite of being qualified,” she said.
As most members of the community live in poverty, reservations could economically and socially uplift them, protesters explained. Transpersons demanded that State governments allow them to revise their educational and other records to include name and gender of their choice.
They also demanded establishment of a hijra, intersex and transgender welfare board similar to those in States including Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Maharashtra. The government’s housing projects should be extended to homeless members of the community. As there were 60 cases of attacks on members of the transgender community, the government should ensure security for them.
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