Click to play videoChennai: Tamil Nadu has become the first state in the country to recognise transgender as the third sex. Is this the beginning of better things to come for them?
Anto Paul Benjamin James or Sheela as she calls herself had to mark herself as a male in her passport and ration card applications despite her having castrated herself and become a transgender.
It was the same for others like her until recently when Tamil Nadu became the first state in the country to recognise members of the third sex.
They were issued ration cards, where they were allowed to mark themselves as ‘T’.
Thamil Nadu Aravanis Association Project Coordinator Anto Paul Benjamin James says, “Now that the Tamil Nadu government has taken a step forward it can be like setting an example to other states also, because in Mumbai and Pune, there're a lot of transgender there who're either beggars or commercial sex-workers.”
According to the Tamil Nadu Aravanis Association, the move will benefit about 75,000 to 80,000 people from the community across the state. And the state government plans to take things forward.
Social Welfare Minister of State Poongothai Alladi Aruna says, “Hopefully we are also taking the issue of voter’s id and passport to the Government of India.”
It's a community that’s faced discrimination in everything from health care to employment opportunities. And the government’s little step to recognise them as the third sex might go a long way in integrating them into the mainstream society.
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