Hyderabad: Transgender Day of Visibility is an international event on March 31 dedicated to recognizing the resilience and accomplishments of the transgender community. On this day, we celebrate the trans people amongst us, raise awareness about the struggles that they face, and advocate for more protected rights for them in a bid to reform society and empower this community — as it so rightfully deserves. Let’s join hands together with the trans community to celebrate not ‘fitting in’ when we all yearn to stand out!
First Trans Day of Visibility held on
The first Transgender Day of Visibility was held in 2010 after Rachel Crandall, a trans advocate, launched the day to focus on empowerment. Trans Day of Visibility is an annual awareness day celebrated around the world. The day is dedicated to celebrating the accomplishments of transgender and gender nonconforming people while raising awareness of the work that still needs to be done to achieve trans justice.
History Of Transgender Day Of Visibility
Rachel Crandall, a U.S.-based transgender activist, founded this day in 2009 to raise awareness for the incredible burden of discrimination the community faces in every setting imaginable. The need to bring a day of ‘visibility’ for the transgender community is indicative of the oppression they face in many sectors of life. Crandall wanted to highlight the fact that the only transgender-centric day that is internationally recognized is Transgender Day of Remembrance, which is in mourning of members of the community who had lost their lives, and that there was no day to pay homage to transgender people. By 2014, the day was observed by activists in Ireland and Scotland while, in 2015, many transgender people took part in the event by participating in social media campaigns. They successfully made the day go viral by posting selfies and personal stories.
Therefore, on Transgender Day of Visibility on March 31, annually, we recognize and revere their contributions, successes, and relentless resilience in standing tall and strong in the face of injustice. Through this Day of Visibility, we hope to induce moral responsibility and tolerance and lift the restrictions on the rights of transgender people.
Transgender Day Of Visibility Timeline
1952 - The First U.S. Transgender Person :- Christine Jorgensen becomes the first person to undergo gender confirmation surgery from male to female but is outed by the American press.
2004 - Transgenders Legalized:- On February 10, the Gender Recognition Act is passed, which allows transgender people to legally change their sex and have it recognized.
2017 - First Trans Mayor Appointed :- Canada makes history as it elects the first-ever trans mayor, Julie Lemieux.
2019 - W.H.O. Removes "Transsexualism" From ‘Mental Disorder’ Designation:- The World Health Organization decides to remove "transsexualism" from being designated as a mental disorder and coins a new term ‘gender incongruence’ in the sexual health category of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems.
Importance of Trans Day of Visibility:- On Visibility Day, the community works to ensure trans people feel seen and that their voices are uplifted, Miller said. Miller's organization, Trans Solutions, provides services to local transgender and gender non-conforming people. Miller said the center is hosting a series of events to celebrate this year’s Day of Visibility, including a drag show.
Transgenders in India
In India, the trans population makes up a total of 4.88 lakh, as per the 2011 census. However, only a handful of them receives employment opportunities. According to a study conducted by the National Human Rights Commission in 2018, 96 percent transgenders are denied jobs and are forced to take low-paying or undignified work for livelihood like badhais, sex work, and begging. The first-ever study on the rights of transgenders also revealed that about 92 percent of transgenders are deprived of the right to participate in any form of economic activity in the country, with even qualified ones refused jobs. There are no jobs for transgenders even if they are qualified ones. Almost 50 to 60 percent never attended schools and those who did face severe discrimination, according to the report. The NHRC further stated that 52 percent transgenders were harassed by their classmates and 15 percent by teachers, forcing them to discontinue their studies. Only 6 per cent transgenders were employed in private sectors or NGOs, back then, while the monthly income of only 1 per cent transgenders was noted to be above Rs.25,000; the majority-26.35 per cent earn between Rs. 10,000-Rs.15,000. The report further revealed that around 23 percent are compelled to engage in sex work which has high health-related risks, which results in trans people being 49 times more at risk of living with HIV compared to the general population.
Employment Situation of India:-
In 2017, Kerala's Kochi Metro Rail Limited employed 23 transgender persons, while eight out of them quit their jobs within a month due to refusal by several landlords to give them accommodation. They were left with no remedy but to quit their jobs since their employer had no legal obligation and/ or incentive to step in and help them fight against such discrimination.
In 2019, in a historical move, a transgender person from Gorakhpur was shortlisted to become a train driver/technician, along with 2,941 women and 83,810 men. However, there were no further reports on whether they were recruited.
In 2020, the Noida Metro Rail Corporation (NMRC), dedicated one of its stations to the trans community and renamed it Pride Station. Six members of the transgender community were recruited by the NMRC through contractors for services.
In 2021, Karnataka became the first Indian state to allocate 1 per cent reservation for jobs in public employment in favour of transgender persons.
There are many transgenders who have done exemplary work in their field, for example, Joyita Mondal from West Bengal becomes the first transgender judge in the country or Prithika Yashini, the first Transgender sub-inspector from Tamil Nadu.
Election Promises and LGBT Queer Community
There have been lots of promises made by political parties in the past around employment opportunities for the transgender. Ahead of the Pune corporation elections in October 2021, the Aam Admi Party (AAP) had launched an LGBTQ cell for the welfare of trans people, in a bid to uphold the party’s ‘policy of inclusion and equality. The party stated that night shelters, jobs, access to education as well as awareness about trans rights were some of the issues which the party wanted to work on. However, what has been the outcome of the same, there is little to no data.
Ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections, Congress had promised to address the issues of trans people around job opportunities and list their issues in its manifesto. It had said, “Congress recognises the sexual diversity among people and promises equality and equal protection of the laws to people with different sexual identities.” In addition to it, it had promised to withdraw the pending Transgender Bill and initiate gender sensitivity training in all government offices. However, with the victory of BJP in 2019, the ‘promises’ never made it to the ground.
With several trans candidates being fielded ahead of the 2022 Assembly elections across states, the question remains, whether the community can hope for more employment opportunities in the coming time.
