Kerala to include transgender option in all govt application forms

Mangalore Today News Network

Thiruvanantapuram, Jan 19, 2021:     Kerala Health and Social Justice Minister KK Shailaja said on Monday that the application forms currently used for various purposes in all departments of the state government will be revised to include transgender as a gender identity option.

 

With this, all the government application forms currently in use will include woman/men/transgender/transwoman/transmen. "This will be another recognition for the progress of the transgender community. This will help in the upliftment of the transgender community," KK Shailaja said.

The government applications can be changed to woman/men/transgender/transwoman/transmen since Kerala has a transgender policy and the sate government finances their gender reassignment surgery.

The decision was taken in an effort to further reach out to the marginalised section.

The decision was taken after understanding that the inclusion of this category in the application form would be beneficial to transgender individuals as their identities are clearly stated in the Transgender Personnel Protection of Rights Act, 2019, KK Shailaja said.

Kerala is the first State in India which declared a Transgender Policy after the landmark judgment of the Supreme Court in 2014 which firmly established the right to equality and equal protection for transgender persons.

Also, Kerala State Women Development Corporation recently decided to provide self-employment loans of Rs 3 lakh to Rs 15 lakh to the transgender persons and groups.

Courtesy:India Today