People at the Margins: Whose Budgets? Whose Rights? The Transgender Question in India: Policy and Budgetary Priorities

This paper, by the Delhi-based non-governmental organisation Praxis, discusses the struggle for transgender rights in India. It highlights the various kinds of discrimination, exclusion and rights violations experienced by the transgender community, due to their families, society and the state. The paper draws on a 2013 study (also by Praxis) of transgender women in Tamil Nadu, which was the first state to set up a Transgender Welfare Board (TGWB). The study examined the performance of the TGWB and reviewed its policies and budgets. This paper provides a summary of the study’s findings. It also emphasises the need for legal and constitutional safeguards for transgender persons and for institutions that can help them access employment, education and healthcare. The paper makes policy-related recommendations and suggests ways to improve the performance of the TGWB. It also underscores the role of sensitisation programmes in challenging discriminatory attitudes towards transgender persons and preventing their exclusion.