Transgenders say Modi's muscular nationalism is of no use to them

“The festival of democracy belongs to us as much as it is about any Indian man and woman. But the third gender is invisible,” says Rizwan Ansari, founder of Basera Samajik Sansthan that works for the rights of the transgender people in the National Capital Region.

In an election laced with the rhetoric of masculine nationalism and development, Rizwan, who is also known as Ramkali, feels the transgender community is completely missing from the Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas (development for all) discourse.

“Elections are a chance for the transgender people to assert their rightful place in the society, provided political parties are willing to listen to us,” says Rizwan.

The invisible lives

In India, the total population of transgender is around 4.88 lakh, according to the 2011 Census. Delhi has more than 4,200 transgender people but only 800 voters registered as third gender. While this is a very small number to affect political outcomes, most of the transgender people are registered as either a male or a female voter.

“The ruling party at the Centre, BJP, has not fielded a single transgender candidate in the elections. This says a lot about its policies,” Rizwan laments, adding that the community members were happy to know that the Aam Aadmi Party selected a transgender candidate, Bhawani Nath Valmiki, to run for the Lok Sabha elections from Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh. The only other mainstream party to do so was the Bahujan Samaj Party, which nominated Kajal Kinnar Nayak for the Korei Assembly seat in Odisha. The state went to simultaneous polls for the Lok Sabha and Assembly in four phases.

In January, the Congress named transgender activist Apsara Reddy as the national general secretary of the women’s wing in January while the BJD in Odisha recently appointed another social activist, Meera Parida, as the vice president of the Biju Mahila Janata Dal, the party’s women’s wing.

That’s about it.

Other third gender candidates such as Radha (Chennai South, Tamil Nadu), Aswathi Rajappan (Ernakulam, Kerala), Naresh Jayshwal (Ahmedabad East, Gujarat) joined the 2019 poll fray as independent candidates. Sneha Kale and Jatin Mummy contested from Mumbai North Central and Mumbai North East seats respectively, on Durbal Ghatak Aghadi tickets.

The third gender though have found a mention in the manifestos of mainstream parties with both the Congress and the BJP promising welfare measures for them. The Congress, apart from parties such as the DMK and the CPI-M, has promised to withdraw the controversial transgender rights bill and introduce a new bill that will be consistent with the Supreme Court judgment in the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) case.

In 2014, the Supreme Court officially recognised the third gender with equal rights under the law.

However, in December last year, the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2016 was passed despite activists pointing out that the law could leave people more vulnerable to abuse. This was an improvised version of the legislation introduced two years ago. Many prominent voices oppose the bill, which has yet to pass through the upper house, saying it is not actually giving them any rights, but instead legalising the atrocities committed on them. One of the major reasons for dissent is the requirement that a screening committee will issue a certificate to each transgender to prevent any misuse. However, such a process goes against the principle of self-identification.

The bill also provides for more lenient sentences for sex crimes than those that currently exist for similar crimes against women.

According to Ramkali, many like herself are awaiting the end of the elections to get a clearer picture on the bill.

Right to vote

Talking about their right to vote, she says, “A lot of voters are transgender adults, but they are mostly registered as either male or female as it becomes difficult to register as a third gender voter.”

23-year-old Mannat Kumar, a resident of Kondli in Delhi, says, “There is a lot of paper work required for a third gender ID. The officials ask for address proof, affidavit and a psychologist’s approval. It’s difficult to arrange all this. When we apply for such certificates, people make fun of us rather than helping us out.”

“Even though election officials in Delhi are now saying that regulations for getting voter IDs have been simplified and we are being allowed to submit self-declaration forms, a lot of us will still end up voting as male or female in this election as well,” adds Mannat, who will be voting from the East Delhi constituency.

Both Mannat and Ramkali, however, maintain that it’s important for the transgender people to go out and cast their votes, notwithstanding the anomaly in their IDs. “If we have to secure our rights, we must go out and vote,” Ramkali insists.

Ask her what are her expectations from the next government and she says. “Well, so far none of the mainstream parties have lived up to our expectations but we need leaders who will work for our education and employment.”

Unemployment, she says, is the biggest challenge that the community faces. “It is because of the lack of education and jobs that transgenders are forced to earn their livelihood by dancing at functions or begging, besides working as sex workers. This will change once we get jobs in government offices and private companies. Is there someone who can ensure that for us?”

But all this depends on the attitude of people. “It’s time they change their mindset and accept our presence. They can’t expunge us. So better accept us,” she adds.

Mannat agrees: “Even the so-called educated people, including political leaders, are not aware of the laws and don’t understand basic human rights. They talk about us during elections but are careful not to be too loud about it. They know we are a very small number in terms of vote bank. When we go to them for help, their guards chase us away from the gates.”

“There is a veil in front of their eyes. Every time they see us, cis-gender people think we are either seeking alms or sympathy. But that’s not true. Not all of us earn our livelihood by dancing at functions or harassing people to pay us more. Also, nobody likes to beg,” says Mannat, who works at beauty parlour that caters exclusively to the grooming requirements of transgenders.

“Apart from the transgender bill, there are many things that happened in the country in the last five years which affected us equally. For instance, when demonetisation happened, transgender people suffered the most. Most of us don’t have bank accounts. So, we were dependent on relatives or neighbours to get our money exchanged. In the process, many were fleeced by the middlemen,” Ramkali explains, saying this would be her tipping point while casting her vote.

Mannat explains, “Those who have bank accounts are mostly registered as men or women. If we are in a different get-up, bank officials refuse to transact with us and ask for ID proofs. There are several practical problems. Though some bank executives later helped us after getting acquainted with us.”

So, this elections will also be about good and inclusive education, jobs, bijli, pani aur sadak (better roads, water and electricity), she says, adding that if soldiers are dying fighting our enemies, what are politicians doing for us?

So, who is more popular – Prime Minister Narendra Modi or his opponent and Congress president Rahul Gandhi?

“I would say Rahul Gandhi. At least the Congress talks about the offensive features in the transgender bill in its current form. The BJP and the prime minister don’t even seem interested in listening to our objections,” smiles Ramkali.

Mannat has a slightly different take on that. “I like Modiji’s personality but he never paid any heed to our problems. The BJP never talks about our issues. They only talk about soldiers. But do soldiers belong to them only? Jawan desh ke seema pe ladte hai, BJP ya aur kisi ke isharo pe nahin (The soldiers fight for the country, not for the BJP or any other party),” she shakes her head in disagreement.