Identity cards for all transgenders may become a reality with ID card application services set to go online.
The Social Justice Department is rolling out an initiative in a couple of days that will allow transgenders to apply for ID cards online. With this, the department will move from a manual application process to a completely digitised platform.
Issue of ID cards to transgenders began last year, but the response was tepid at best. Says Social Justice Director Jafar Malik, “We did not get many applications for ID. One reason could be that the application process was protracted. Applications had to be submitted to the District Transgender Board that would send it to the Social Justice Directorate from where it would go to the agency printing the card. Members of the transgender community were not keen on visiting various offices either. They also wanted a change in the card – they wanted it to specify their gender.”
Now, the department has changed the process and the card format. An online platform to apply for the cards has been developed. Transgenders could apply from wherever they are. The form is easy to fill.
Once that is done, it will come to the Transgender Cell set up by the government, which will forward it to the District Transgender Board. It will then reach the Social Justice Director for approval. The Director will forward it to the Centre for Development of Imaging Technology (C-DIT) that has developed the ID card management system. The C-DIT will print it the same day and despatch it to the applicant.
The fully online process will ensure privacy, as applicants do not have to go to any office or appear in front of anyone. It will also avoid delays, Mr. Malik says. The ID cards will have a hologram to ensure security and avoid duplication. The cards will also have a unique ID that will be used as a reference for all schemes designed by the department for the transgender community.
Single platform
The ID will help bring the transgender community on a single platform, especially as many of them do not have Aadhaar or other ID, says Mr. Malik.
To apply, they need to log on to www.sjd.kerala.gov.in . TG cell project officer Shyama S. Prabha says the card will go beyond identifying scheme beneficiaries; it could be used to show one’s identity as per the Transgender Policy and make changes in other documents such as passport, Aadhaar, and so on. The card upholds the Supreme Court judgment on right to self-identify one’s gender and gives the option to select gender as ‘male,’ ‘female,’ or ‘transgender.’ It has been developed in consultation with the TG cell, leaving little scope for complaints, she says.
