TMC MP introduces Bill for transgenders

Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar on Friday introduces Bill for the welfare of transgender in Lok Sabha. 

The Transgender Persons (Welfare) Bill 2015 calls for a Transgender Persons Welfare Fund administered by a board with representation from the state government that will provide social security to transgenders. 

It proposes that every transgender will be entitled to freely express his/her gender identity and be considered a third gender, and that they will have access to education and vocational training; the rights to personal liberty, dignity, freedom of expression; rights against violence, right to health facilities and also the right to marry.

Dastidar said, “It is high time to recognise the needs of these people. Since Parliament is the place where we can legislate for providing for all their requirements and guaranteeing them their rights, I brought this Bill. West Bengal is among the first states in the country that, as far as my knowledge goes, recognised their needs and set up a transgender board to ensure those rights.”